Big change to supermarket rules including Tesco, Aldi, Lidl and Morrisons as shoppers face extra till checks
THE UK Government has confirmed retailers selling knives online and in store will mandate a two-step verification process.
Shoppers at supermarkets and online retailers must submit a copy of their photo ID, such as a driver’s licence or passport, as well as proof of address, such as a utility bill.
They will then have to show ID again when the package is delivered if the utensil has been ordered online.
Companies will be required by law to forbid sale without a digital scan of a passport or driving licence as well as a live selfie video to verify the buyer is the ID holder.
It comes after it was revealed that Southport murderer Axel Rudakubana was able to buy knives on Amazon in seconds despite being just 17 with a history of violence.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “It’s a total disgrace how easy it still is for children to get dangerous weapons online.
“More than two years after Ronan Kanda was killed with a ninja sword bought by a teenager online, too many retailers still don’t have proper checks in place.
“It’s too easy to put in false birth dates, parcels are too often being dropped off at a doorstop with no questions asked.
“We cannot go on like this. We need much stronger checks – before you buy, before it’s delivered.
“The measures I am setting out today will be crucial in addressing this problem and are part of our Plan for Change and mission to make streets safer.”
PM PROMISES TO THWART ‘TWO-CLICK KILLERS’
It comes after Prime Minister Keir Starmer told The Sun he will urgently change the law to stop under-18s bypassing online age checks with ease. He said: “This cannot continue.”
Rudakubana, who fatally stabbed three young girls at a Taylor Swift dance class last July, exploited limited checks allowing blades to be sent without ID.
He amassed a cache of weapons including knives, machetes and arrows, and admitted carrying a blade more than ten times.
The killer, referred to the anti-terror programme three times, also had a conviction for a violent offence against a child at school.
Rudakubana — who admitted murdering Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Da Silva Aguiar, nine — was sentenced to 52 years for the sickening spree.
He was 17 when he ordered two survival knives to his home — a fortnight before killing three children and injuring ten more at a Taylor Swift dance workshop last July 29.
Rudakubana also made two attempts to purchase a £4, 20cm-long kitchen knife in the month before his atrocity. He used security software to hide his identity.
A similar knife to the one he used to kill costs just £1.70.
Other items found at his home were a machete, knives, and a set of arrows.
And a source said his purchasing history showed he had an interest in the “procurement of weapons capable of killing”.
Writing in today’s Sun, PM Sir Keir Starmer said: “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.”