Stricter rules to be introduced on online knife sales

The government has announced plans to introduce stricter rules for online retailers selling knives.

Retailers will be required to report any bulk or suspicious-looking purchases of knives on their platforms to police to prevent illegal resales happening across social media accounts.

The sentence for selling weapons to under 18s will increase from six months to up to two years in prison. This could apply to the CEO or the person who has processed the sale. This increased penalty will also apply to the sale or supply of prohibited offensive weapons such as recently banned zombie-style knives.

The crime and policing bill will introduce a new offence of possessing an offensive weapon with intent for violence. This will come with a prison sentence of up to four years in prison.

A consultation will be launched later this year, to explore the prospect of a registration scheme for all online retailers selling knives.

Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper said: "It is horrifying how easy it is for young people to get hold of knives online even though children’s lives are being lost, and families and communities are left devastated as a result.

"Not enough has been done to tackle the online market over recent years which is why we made it an urgent priority in our manifesto and the measures today will be underpinned by investment for a new dedicated police unit to go after those who are breaking the law and putting children and teenagers lives at risk.

"We are honouring our commitment to introduce Ronan’s Law in memory of Ronan Kanda who was tragically killed in 2022. I am so grateful to the Kanda family for their endless perseverance in ensuring governments take the right actions to protect young people from further tragedy.

"This government has set an ambitious mission for the country to halve knife crime over the next decade and we will pursue every possible avenue to save young lives."

The new measures will be known as 'Ronan's Law' after Ronan Kanda, who was killed in 2022, aged 16 in a case of mistaken identity. Ronan's killers had bought weapons online and collected them from the post office on the day of the attack. One of the killers had bought more than 20 knives online.

Ronan's mother, Pooja Kanda said: "In 2022, I lost my son, Ronan, to knife crime and mistaken identity. In 2023, we sat in the courtroom where we were shown a Ninja sword and 25+ bladed articles. Looking at them, I knew my son didn’t stand a chance. Without proper ID checks, the online sale of these bladed articles played a crucial role in this tragedy. How was this allowed? A 16-year-old managed to get these weapons online and sold these weapons to other people.  I knew we could not go on like this, and our fight for what was right had begun. Proper ID checks by sellers, as well as postal and delivery services, played a crucial role.

We welcome the government’s plans to tackle the online sale of these weapons. Retailers, social media, and sellers need to take on more responsibilities. We welcome the proposal of a registration scheme, where the government will continue to implement stricter measures on the online sale of bladed articles. We have so much work to tackle knife crime; this is a much-needed beginning.

This part of Ronan’s law will provide much-needed barriers against knife crime. I wish this was done years ago, and my son would be with me today."

Last autumn, the Home Secretary commissioned National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for Knife Crime, Commander Stephen Clayman to conduct a review into the sale of knives online. The review exposed loopholes which allowed dangerous weapons to end up in the wrong hands. It highlighted the lack of minimum standards for age verification and delivery checks.

Commander Clayman said: "A key focus in our fight to tackle knife crime and improve the safety of our communities is limiting the accessibility of knives wherever possible, restricting their availability and the routes to purchase. All too often in policing, we are dealing with the horrific consequences of knife crime and seeing how it devastates individuals and families.

"The evidence in the end-to-end review clearly demonstrates just how easy it is for anyone to purchase a knife online, often avoiding any age verification at all, or where it is in place, exploiting vulnerabilities, especially with delivery.  

"We welcome the government’s commitment in working with policing and partners to tackle knife crime and these new measures will significantly enhance our response to this."