Starmer promises action to end ‘shockingly easy’ access to knives online
Share:
Online retailers will be forced to put in place tougher checks to stop youngsters buying knives after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said it is “shockingly easy” for children to buy blades. Southport murderer Axel Rudakubana used a knife bought from Amazon to kill three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, Merseyside, in July.
The Government has promised new laws, which could see retailers forced to ask anyone buying a knife for two types of identification. Buyers could be asked to submit an official identity document, such as a passport or driving licence, and also record a live video to prove their age, the BBC reported.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told MPs it is a “a total disgrace” that Rudakubana, then 17 and with a history of violence, was able to buy a weapon online and promised new measures in the Crime and Policing Bill this spring. Writing in The Sun, Sir Keir said: “It remains shockingly easy for our children to get their hands on deadly knives. The lessons of this case could not be clearer.
“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 of the internet without any checks or barriers. A two-click killer. This cannot continue.
