Anyone buying a knife online will face stricter age checks following the stabbing attack that left three young girls dead in Southport. Buyers will now have to submit official photo ID and proof of address at the point of sale and show their ID again on delivery as part of new the rules, the government has announced.
Image Credit: Metro [Pic shows: Merseyside Police release picture of child killer Axel Rudakubana. Axel Rudakubana, 18, has pleaded guilty to murdering three girls in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport last year supplied by Pixel8000 07917221968]
It comes days after Axel Rudakubana was jailed for a minimum of 53 years for the murders of Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven and Alice da Silva Aguiar, at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on July 29 last year. Rudakubana, aged 17, at the time, used a knife bought from Amazon to kill the girls and injure several others.
Image Credit: Metro
Official ID can be a person’s driver’s licence or passport, for example, while proof of address includes utility bills and bank statements. Some retailers may ask the buyer to also submit a current photo or video of themselves, the Home Office said.
Image Credit: Metro [Undated handout file photos issued by Merseyside Police of (left to right) Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, who died after a mass stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class at the Hart Space on Monday July 29 in Southport. Inquests into the deaths of the three stabbing victims have been opened and adjourned at Bootle Town Hall, where senior coroner Julie Goulding said it was "impossible to adequately articulate the devastating lifelong effects of the truly tragic events of Monday, July 29". Issue date: Wednesday August 7, 2024. PA Photo. Axel Rudakubana, 17, from Lancashire, is set to stand trial next year after being charged with three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and possession of a bladed article in a public place. See PA story INQUEST Southport . Photo credit should read: Merseyside Police/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.]
Companies will only be able to deliver a knife to the person who bought it, and it will be illegal to leave a package containing a bladed article on a doorstep when no one is in. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had promised urgent action to prevent under-18s buying knives online, saying it was ‘shockingly easy’ for killers such as Rudakubana to get their hands on weapons.
Image Credit: Metro [SOUTHPORT, ENGLAND - AUGUST 05: Members of the community arrive ahead of a vigil to remember the victims of last week's knife attack near the Atkinson on August 5, 2024 in Southport, England. One week ago, three young girls, Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, were killed, and several other people were seriously injured, when 17-year-old Axel Muganwa Rudakubana went on a stabbing spree in a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport. The incident, as well as false information that the suspect was an immigrant, sparked a wave of anti-immigrant protests and riots across the UK. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)]
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, meanwhile, said: ‘It’s a total disgrace how easy it still is for children to get dangerous weapons online. ‘More than two years after Ronan Kanda was killed with a ninja sword bought by a teenager online, too many retailers still don’t have proper checks in place.
![[Pic shows: Merseyside Police release picture of child killer Axel Rudakubana. Axel Rudakubana, 18, has pleaded guilty to murdering three girls in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport last year supplied by Pixel8000 07917221968]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_236670653-0a9c.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
![[SOUTHPORT, ENGLAND - AUGUST 05: Members of the community arrive ahead of a vigil to remember the victims of last week's knife attack near the Atkinson on August 5, 2024 in Southport, England. One week ago, three young girls, Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, were killed, and several other people were seriously injured, when 17-year-old Axel Muganwa Rudakubana went on a stabbing spree in a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport. The incident, as well as false information that the suspect was an immigrant, sparked a wave of anti-immigrant protests and riots across the UK. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_216041138-2dac-e1737913211389.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
