To prevent minors from purchasing knives, the UK government plans to mandate that online retailers require customers to provide two forms of identification when buying knives. This measure was proposed following the Southport knife attack and aims to strengthen regulations on knife sales, preventing future tragedies.
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02-11, 2025Axel Rudakubana, who admitted to killing three young girls last summer, purchased the murder weapon from Amazon when he was just 17 years old. Despite existing laws prohibiting the sale of most knives to individuals under 18, this incident exposed loopholes in online sales regulations. The proposed checks will require buyers to submit identification documents such as passports and record a live video to verify their age.
Amazon stated that they "take their responsibility for the sale of all age-restricted items, including knife products, extremely seriously" and have launched an investigation. The stricter identity checks are among the recommendations made by Commander Stephen Clayman, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for knife crime, in his review of online knife sales for the government. Currently, customers ordering knives from platforms like Amazon only need to enter their date of birth and are informed that “age verification and a signature will be required on delivery.”
Commander Clayman was originally scheduled to submit his report at the end of this month, but these plans have now been brought forward. It is unclear whether this move will require new legislation. The government has previously pledged to halve knife crime within the next decade and announced new sanctions, including personal fines, for tech company executives who fail to address illegal knife sales on their platforms.
Knife crime has increased significantly over the past decade. In the year ending March 2024, the number of serious crimes involving knives in England and Wales was 54% higher than in the same period in 2016. Prime Minister Keir Starmer wrote in a commentary for The Sun on Wednesday, "Our children can still access deadly knives with shocking ease."
Prime Minister Starmer stated, “The lesson from this case could not be clearer. The Southport murderer carried a knife again and again. He showed a clear intention to use a knife again and again. Yet, tragically, he was still able to order the murder weapon online without any checks or barriers. This was murder by ‘two clicks’. This cannot go on.” He also emphasized, “Even kitchen knives ordered online should have the technology to set up age verification checks. We must now use that technology to protect our children from future attacks, and I will make sure that happens.”
An Amazon spokesperson said, “Whenever these knives are ordered, we use trusted identity verification services to check name, date of birth, and address details. We have age verification on delivery, requiring drivers to verify the recipient’s age via an app on their device before handing over parcels containing age-restricted items.”
Rudakubana admitted on the first day of his trial on Monday to murdering 6-year-old Bebe O’Keefe, 7-year-old Elsie Dot Stankom, and 9-year-old Alice Da Silva Aguiar at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class last July. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told the House of Commons that it was a “complete disgrace” that Rudakubana “easily ordered a knife on Amazon,” despite being underage and having a previous record of violent offenses against another schoolchild. He had also been referred to the government’s anti-extremism program, Prevent, three times between 2019 and 2021 and admitted to carrying a knife more than 10 times.
