This deadly knife which was seized in Brent is one of 112 that officers have confiscated in the last five days as part of a London-wide operation.

The discoveries of the potentially lethal weapons are a result of phase six of Operation Sceptre which was rolled out across the city on Monday.

The anti-knife crime initiative has seen officers carry out weapon sweeps in all 32 London boroughs, increased stop and searches in hotspot areas and test purchase to find traders who illegally sell blades to under 18s.

In addition to the knives, officers have also confiscated 64 offesive weapons and to date 249 people have been arrested for a variety of offences.

Detective Inspector Gary Anderson, of the Met’s Trident Gang Crime Command, who is coordinating Operation Sceptre, said: “This operation has removed a total of 176 weapons from the streets of London in less than a week. While challenging knife crime is business as usual for the Met, the Operation Sceptre activities enhance our focus on knives and knife carriers at key points in the calendar when knife crime has historically shown an increase in victims.

“Knife carrying and gang culture are not something that can be combated by police alone. Youngsters need to be made aware that carrying a knife is not ‘normal behaviour’ and is against the law.

“A knife being present in any confrontation hugely increases the chance of fatal injury and often, people are injured by the knife that they, themselves were carrying.

“In addition, new legislation now dictates that if someone is found to be carrying a knife more than once they will be going to prison.”

The five earlier phases of Operation Sceptre, which was launched in July last year, saw police carry out a total of 4,729 weapon sweeps, 155 searches of known knife carriers and 533 test purchase operations that resulted in 132 failures (illegal sales).

Detective Chief Superintendent Jim Stokley, head of Trident and Area Crime Command, added: “We will not stop in our efforts to rid the streets of London of knives in dangerous hands by proactively targeting known violent offenders and stopping and searching people to detect and deter the carrying of weapons.”