Online stores to require two IDs to stop underage knife sales
Online retailers will be forced to ask for two forms of identification from anyone buying a knife under government plans to crack down on underage sales in the wake of the Southport knife attack.
Axel Rudacubana, who admitted murdering three young girls last summer, bought that knife from Amazon when he was just 17 years old, despite existing laws that prohibit the sale of most knives to people under 18. Imposes restrictions.
The proposed test will ask buyers to submit identity documents such as passports and record a live video to prove their age.
Amazon has said it “takes its responsibility around the sale of all age-restricted items – including bladed products – extremely seriously” and has launched an investigation.
Stronger ID checks are among the proposals in a review of online knife sales being made to the government by Commander Stephen Kleeman, head of the National Police Chiefs’ Council for Knife Crime.
Currently, for example, customers ordering knives on Amazon are asked to enter their date of birth and told: “Proof of age and a signature will be required upon delivery”.
Commander Kleiman was due to report later this month, but plans are now being brought forward. It was not immediately clear whether the move would require new legislation.
The government, which has pledged to halve knife crime over the next decade, had earlier announced new sanctions – including personal fines – for executives at tech companies that fail to tackle illegal knife sales on their platforms. are.
The last decade has seen a significant increase in knife crime number of serious crimes There was a 54% increase in England and Wales in the year ending March 2024 on the equivalent figure for 2016.
In an opinion piece for Wednesday’s Sun newspaperPrime Minister Sir Keir Starmer wrote that “it is shockingly easy for our children to get hold of a deadly knife”.
“The lessons of this case could not be clearer,” he said.
“As a child, the Southport killer repeatedly carried knives. Repeatedly, he showed a clear intention to use them.
“And yet the sad thing is that he was able to order a murder weapon from the Internet without any checks or barriers. A two-click killer. This cannot continue.
“The technology exists to set up age-verification checks even for kitchen knives ordered online.
“We must use it now to protect our children from future attacks and I will make sure that happens.”
An Amazon spokesperson said: “Whenever an order for these bladed items is placed we use trusted ID verification services to check name, date of birth and address details.
“We have an age verification on delivery process that requires drivers to verify the recipient’s age through an app on their device before handing over a parcel containing age-restricted items.”
On Monday, the first day of his trial, Rudacubana pleaded guilty to the murders of six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancomb and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguirre in Taylor Swift. Themed dance class last July.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told the Commons that it was “completely outrageous” that Rudakubana, despite his age as well as a prior conviction for a violent crime against another child at school, was “able to easily order a knife on Amazon.” ” Was.
He was also referred to the government’s anti-extremism program Prevent on three separate occasions between 2019 and 2021 and admitted carrying a knife more than 10 times.
