Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has warned it is “shockingly easy” for Bristol teenagers to buy knives online. Online retailers will be forced to put in place tougher checks to stop youngsters buying knives in the wake of the Southport attack.
Last month, teenage child-killer Axel Rudakubana was sentenced to life for the murders of three innocent girls who were enjoying a Taylor Swift dance class in Southport. Also attempting to murder 10 others at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class, this was the worst targeted attack on children in Britain since the Dunblane massacre.
Rudakubana used a knife bought from Amazon to murder the three children in July. Home Office figures show that knife crime has rocketed in the Avon and Somerset police force area over the last decade – and possession figures are highest in Bristol.
In the year ending March 2024, there were 1,576 serious offences, including murder, rape, robbery, assault, and sexual assault that involved the use of a knife recorded by Avon and Somerset Police. That is 25% higher than the previous year and three times higher than the 528 offences a decade ago.
Crime figures also show that 616 offences of possessing a knife were recorded in the year to June 2024. That was 18% higher than the previous year and nearly triple the 235 offences recorded in the year ending June 2014.
Together For Change Aims
Set up a task force – We will develop a community-driven task force to meet and discuss the issue, how best to tackle it and how we can make a real difference with those in power.
Getting knives off the street – We will work with the campaigners to raise awareness of initiatives designed to get knives off the streets.
Social media – We will look at the Online Safety Bill and see if it goes far enough where it comes to harmful knife-related content on social media and how easy it is for children to see.
Raise awareness – We will work together to raise the awareness of how knife crime is linked to poverty, education, employment, social exclusion and the collapse in youth services
Lobby the government -We will cover the issue in the context of the General Election, using our findings from the taskforce and our reporting to lobby for change
Hold power to account – We will scrutinise and hold Avon and Somerset Police and Bristol City Council to account on their plans and models to make Bristol safer
The figures show that people are more likely to be found in possession of a weapon in Bristol than anywhere else in the Avon and Somerset police force area. In the last three years, police have recorded 689 crimes of possessing an “article with a blade or point” in Bristol. That compares to 208 offences in North Somerset, and 156 in South Gloucestershire.
When compared to the size of the population, Bristol has a rate of 14 crimes for every 10,000 people living there, the highest in Avon and Somerset. That’s the equivalent of about one in every 695 people being caught carrying a knife in the last three years.
Bristol is followed by North Somerset (10 crimes per 10,000 population, or one crime for every 1,054 people). In South Gloucestershire, the rate is much lower, with five crimes for every 10,000 of the population, or the equivalent of one for every 1,890 people.
You can see how many people have been caught carrying a knife near you using our interactive map:
The Government has promised new laws that could force retailers 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 record a live video to prove their age.
Employment minister Alison McGovern said new measures to use two-factor identification to prevent under-age people from buying knives are needed to stop the “absolute devastation” caused by the flow of blades.
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.
“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 and I will ensure that this happens.”
The forthcoming Crime and Policing Bill will also introduce new sanctions for senior tech executives whose companies fail to comply with the law on knife sales. The current law states that retailers must verify the age of the customer before selling a knife and, for those bought online, at the point of collection or delivery.
An Amazon spokesman said: “We take our responsibility around the sale of all age-restricted items – including bladed products – extremely seriously and have launched an urgent investigation in relation to this tragic case.
“We use trusted ID verification services to check name, date of birth and address details whenever an order is placed for these bladed items.
“We have an age verification on delivery process that requires drivers to verify the recipient’s age through an app on their devices before handing over a parcel containing an age-restricted item.”