In London on January 26, Britain announced plans to enforce more rigorous age-verification checks for retailers to prevent children from purchasing knives. This decision came shortly after a teenager attacked three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event. Prime Minister Keir Starmer referred to Axel Rudakubana's July knife attack as a pivotal moment in British history, prompting an investigation into the systemic failures that enabled the incident.
While the inquiry primarily focuses on the negligence of state institutions despite prior warnings about the attacker, there is also a spotlight on the regulations governing knife purchases. Although current laws mandate age verification systems for retailers to deter individuals under 18 from buying knives, certain aspects of these systems remain ambiguous.
Last week, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper condemned the fact that Rudakubana, who was 17 at the time of the attack, could easily procure a knife online. The government subsequently declared that retailers must now verify photo IDs both during the sale and upon delivery, with packages to be received exclusively by the purchaser.
Cooper expressed strong disapproval of the lax access children have to dangerous weapons online, highlighting the ease of falsifying birth dates and the frequent unmonitored delivery of packages. These stringent measures are set to be integrated into an upcoming bill expected to commence the legislative process in parliament in the near future.