Plans for over-16s to face mandatory custodial sentences if they are convicted of a knife offence for a second time have been backed by MPs.

The proposed legislation will mean 16- and 17-year-olds will be handed a mandatory four-month detention and training order on their second conviction for carrying a knife. Adults will receive a minimum six-month jail term.

The amendment to the Criminal Courts and Justice Bill, proposed by Conservative MP Nick de Bois, was broadly supported by Conservative and Labour MPs but faced opposition from Liberal Democrats.

Under existing legislation, passed in May 2012 in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (Laspo) Act, 16- and 17-year-olds who threaten someone with a knife in public or school already face mandatory custodial sentences.

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