The UK government on Wednesday announced stricter rules for online retailers selling knives, along with tougher penalties for failing to enforce them, as part of a new crackdown named in memory of an Indian-origin boy killed in a stabbing attack.
Ronan's Law will require retailers to report suspicious and bulk purchases of knives on their platforms to police, with tougher sentences for selling knives to under 18s.
Ronan Kanda, 16, was attacked near his home in Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region of England in July 2022 and died at the scene after being stabbed twice in what emerged as a case of mistaken identity.
His mother, Pooja Kanda, has since been campaigning for more stringent measures after two teenagers - also of Indian origin - were sentenced to a total of 34 years' imprisonment for her son's murder.
"In 2022, I lost my son, Ronan, to knife crime and mistaken identity. In 2023, we sat in the courtroom where we were shown a Ninja sword and over 25 bladed articles. Looking at them, I knew my son didn't stand a chance," Pooja Kanda said in a statement.
"Retailers, social media, and sellers need to take on more responsibilities. We welcome the proposal of a registration scheme, where the government will continue to implement stricter measures on the online sale of bladed articles...
"This part of Ronan's Law will provide much-needed barriers against knife crime. I wish this was done years ago, and my son would be with me today," she said.
The campaigner has been raising the issue of online sale of bladed articles being allowed without proper ID checks after Wolverhampton Crown Court heard that her son's teenage killers illegally bought lethal weapons online and collected them from the Post Office on the day of the attack - with no age or identity verification taking place. It was later revealed that one of them had bought more than 20 knives online, including by using his mother's ID.
"I knew we could not go on like this, and our fight for what was right had begun. Proper ID checks by sellers, as well as postal and delivery services, played a crucial role," noted Kanda.
The Home Office said Ronan's Law is aimed at closing lethal loopholes in the online sale of knives as a result of "tireless campaigning" by Ronan's mother and sister Nikita to restrict young people's access to weapons online and to protect other families from the same heartbreak.
Under the new set of measures, retailers will be required to report any bulk or suspicious-looking purchases of knives on their platforms to police to prevent illegal resales happening across social media accounts.
The sentence for selling weapons to under 18s will be increased from six months to up to two years prison time, which could apply to an individual who has processed the sale or a CEO of the company.
A new offence of possessing an offensive weapon with intent for violence will be also introduced in the Crime and Policing Bill, which will come with a prison sentence of up to four years in prison.
This means that no matter if the weapon in possession is legal or not, if there is intent to cause violence, it is a crime. Meanwhile, a consultation will be undertaken to determine if a registration scheme should be put in place for all online retailers selling knives, so that only responsible sellers are able to sell knives.
"It is horrifying how easy it is for young people to get hold of knives online even though children's lives are being lost, and families and communities are left devastated as a result," said UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.
"We are honouring our commitment to introduce Ronan's Law in memory of Ronan Kanda who was tragically killed in 2022. I am so grateful to the Kanda family for their endless perseverance in ensuring governments take the right actions to protect young people from further tragedy.
"This government has set an ambitious mission for the country to halve knife crime over the next decade and we will pursue every possible avenue to save young lives," she said.
The measures follow an "end-to-end review" by the UK's National Police Chiefs' Council lead for Knife Crime, Commander Stephen Clayman, into the sale of knives online being published this week.
It highlights the lack of minimum standards for age verification and delivery checks, resulting in a more stringent two-step system for all retailers selling knives online going forward.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
