Starmer vows tougher controls on online knife sales

PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer has announced plans for stricter measures to prevent under-18s from purchasing knives online.

His statement follows the case of a 17-year-old who used a knife bought on Amazon to kill three young girls in a stabbing spree last July.

Writing in The Sun, Starmer described the process of buying knives online as "shockingly easy," highlighting that the teenager, Axel Rudakubana, was able to purchase the weapon without any checks. "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," Starmer said.

Rudakubana, who has pleaded guilty to the killings, is scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday at Liverpool Crown Court.

Starmer called for the use of technology to introduce age verification systems for online knife sales.

"The technology is there to set up age verification checks, even for kitchen knives ordered online. We must now use it to protect our children from future attack," he said.

The announcement came amid another knife-related tragedy in the UK. A 12-year-old boy was fatally stabbed in Birmingham on Tuesday, and a 14-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with the incident, according to police.

Home secretary Yvette Cooper criticised the ease of online knife purchases, calling it a "total disgrace" during a session in Parliament. She also promised new measures under the upcoming Crime and Policing Bill.

Current legislation requires retailers to verify a customer's age when selling knives and, for online purchases, at the point of collection or delivery.

Amazon, in response to the Rudakubana case, said it had launched an "urgent investigation."

A spokesperson explained, "We use trusted ID verification services to check name, date of birth and address details whenever an order is placed for these bladed items." The company also stated that it has an age verification process during delivery.

Starmer has previously called knife crime in the UK a "national crisis."

In September, the government banned "zombie"-style hunting knives with blades over 20 centimetres.

A BBC report has suggested that a review of online knife sales for the government could propose a two-step verification process, involving identity documents and live video recordings to confirm a buyer's age.

The review, led by Commander Stephen Clayman of the National Police Chiefs' Council, is expected later this month.

(With inputs from AFP)