Anyone attempting to buy knives online will now face tougher measures to prove their age under new restrictions being brought forward in the wake of the Southport knife atrocity which saw three young girls murdered.
Axel Rudakubana, who pleaded guilty on Monday to killing the girls at The Hart Space on 29th July last year, bought a knife from Amazon when he was just 17, despite existing laws which prohibit the sale of most knives to under-18s.
Online retailers will be forced to ask anyone buying a knife for two types of identification under government plans, with buyers asked to submit an identity document, such as a passport, 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.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said that it “remains shockingly easy for our children to get their hands on deadly knives”.
“The lessons of this case could not be clearer,” he said.
“Time and again, as a child, the Southport murderer carried knives. Time and again, he showed clear intent to use them.
“And yet tragically, he was still able to order the murder weapon off the internet without any checks or barriers. A two-click killer. This cannot continue.”
The government, which has pledged to halve knife crime over the next decade, previously announced new sanctions – including personal fines – for executives at tech companies which fail to tackle illegal knife sales on their platforms.
The last decade has seen a significant rise in knife crime, with the number of serious offences in England and Wales in the year ending March 2024 up 54% on the equivalent figure for 2016.
A spokesperson for Amazon said: “We use trusted ID verification services to check name, date of birth and address details whenever an order is placed for these bladed items.
“We have an age verification on delivery process that requires drivers to verify the recipient’s age through an app on their devices before handing over a parcel containing an age-restricted item.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told the Commons it was a “total disgrace” that Rudakubana had been “easily able to order a knife on Amazon” despite his age as well as a prior conviction for a violent offence against another child at school.
He will be sentenced on Thursday.
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