Company heads face jail for online knife sales to children. Maximum sentence is two years under Ronan’s Law.
Suppliers must report big knife orders that might go to gangs or terrorists.
Yvette Cooper wants to be tough on crime and is considering licensing for knife retailers. Vetted suppliers would be trading. A new police unit gets £1 million to fight knife crime.
These changes form Ronan’s Law, which honors Ronan Kanda, who was killed three years ago in a case of mistaken identity.
Ronan’s killers bought a ninja sword online and picked it up without proving their age. His mom wishes these laws happened sooner.
Cooper says it’s too easy for young people to get knives online, putting children’s lives at risk, and devastating families. She says not enough was done about online knife sales.
It was a priority in their manifesto and today’s changes include a police unit. This unit will target those breaking the knife laws. These actions follow a review led by Stephen Clayman.