Ministers want two-step ID check to stop under-age knife sales
Online retailers will be forced to ask anyone buying a knife to provide two types of identification to prevent sales to minors following the Southport knife attack, under government plans.
Axel Rudakubana admitted to killing three young girls last summer, buying the knives he used from Amazon when he was 17 despite current laws banning the sale of most knives to teenagers under 18. of knives.
The proposed checks would require buyers to submit identification, such as a passport, and record live video to prove their age.
Amazon said it “takes its responsibility for the sale of all age-restricted products, including blade products, very seriously” and has launched an investigation.
Tightening identity checks is one of the recommendations of a review of online knife sales being conducted for the government by Commander Stephen Clayman, head of knife crime at the National Police Chiefs Council.
For example, currently, customers ordering knives on Amazon are asked to enter their date of birth and told: “Proof of age and signature required upon delivery.”
Pastor Kleinman was originally due to submit his report at the end of this month, but that plan is now being moved forward. It’s unclear whether the move will require new legislation.
The government has pledged to halve knife crime over the next decade and previously announced new sanctions, including individual fines for tech executives who fail to tackle illegal knife sales on their platforms.
Knife crime has increased significantly over the past decade, Number of serious violations Revenues in England and Wales were up 54% in the year to March 2024 compared with the same period in 2016.
In an opinion piece in The Sun on WednesdayPrime Minister Sir Keir Starmer wrote that “our children remain extremely vulnerable to lethal knives”.
“The lesson of this case could not be clearer,” he said.
“As a child, the Southport murderer carried knives time and time again. Time and time again he showed a clear intention to use a knife.
“Yet sadly he was still able to order a murder weapon off the internet without any checks or barriers. A two-button killer. This cannot continue.
“The technology can 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 these blades are ordered, we use a trusted identity verification service to check name, date of birth and address details.
“We have implemented age verification during the delivery process, requiring drivers to verify the recipient’s age via an app on their device before delivering a package containing age-restricted items.”
Ruda Cubana pleaded guilty to murdering six-year-old Babe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancomb and nine-year-old Ally at the Taylor Swift Theater on the first day of her trial on Monday Si da Silva Aguiar. Theme dance class last July.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told the House of Commons that despite Rudacubana’s advanced age and previous conviction for a violent crime against another child at school, he “could easily Ordering a knife on Amazon is a “total disgrace.”
He was also referred to the government’s counter-extremism program Prevent on three separate occasions between 2019 and 2021, and admitted carrying a knife more than 10 times.
