Restrictions on bomb-making materials come into force

From Sunday 1 October, new restrictions on poisons and explosive substances have come into force.

The changes will come into force through the updates to the Poisons Act 1972.

The changes mean stricter requirements on reporting suspicious activity, including new obligations for online marketplaces. Customer information, such as photo identification, will also need to be recorded when selling regulated materials to business users.

New substances have also been added to the list of regulated poisons, including 2,4 Dinitrophenol and zinc phosphide and hexamine - the latter two are often used in fireworks.

It will be a criminal offence to sell these substances to members of the public without a valid licence.

Security minister Tom Tugendhat said: "The deaths of dozens of young people at the hands of criminals selling chemicals like DNP is a tragedy.

"These new measures will help prevent dangerous controlled substances from falling into the wrong hands."

Food Standards Agency (FSA) head of National Food Crime Unit Andrew Quinn said: "DNP can, and does, kill. This is why we strongly support the Home Office on the reclassification of DNP as a poison as well as the police on tackling criminals who supply this killer chemical."

Image: Bis(2,4-dinitrophenyl)-oxalate-3D-balls by Jynto, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons