‘Bailey’s law’ crackdown over online knife sales
TOUGHER checks are being introduced for people buying knives online after a teenager was stabbed to death at a Scottish school.
The Scottish Government worked alongside politicians at Westminster on the legislation – which will mean online retailers have to carry out rigorous proof of age checks.
Bailey Gwynne, a pupil at Cults Academy, in Aberdeen, was just 16 when he was stabbed to death by a fellow pupil in October 2015.
Daniel Stroud, now 18, who was given a nine-year sentence after being found guilty of culpable homicide, had been able to buy the weapon online without having to prove his age. He had bought the 3.5inch folding knife for £40 from Amazon and had it delivered to his home.
His head teacher, Anna Muirhead, told his trial at the High Court in Aberdeen in 2016 that she warned him about knives when he was ‘in first year or early second year’.
Police experts found Google searches on Stroud’s laptop including ‘knife merchant’, ‘illegal knives UK’ and ‘knuckleduster UK’.
A multi-agency review in the wake of Bailey’s death called on ministers to ‘explore further legislative controls that can be brought to bear on the purchase of weapons online’.
As well as doing that, the new Offensive Weapons Bill – which is UK Government legislation – will mean retailers can no longer deliver blades to residential addresses or drop off points. The same legislation will also ban the sale of the most corrosive products to under 18s, and make it an offence to be in possession of acid and other such substances in public.
The law covers areas reserved to Westminster, as well as some that are devolved to Holyrood.
Scottish ministers will seek a legislative consent motion for the Bill.
Scottish Justice Secretary Michael Matheson said: ‘I wrote to the UK Government in January 2017 raising concerns about the online sale of knives and the need for a joint approach.
‘I’m glad to see this Bill will address these issues and ensure more barriers are put in place to stop young people accessing knives and other offensive weapons online.
‘We are resolute in our determination to tackle violent crime, and this Bill ensures we are going further to prevent incidents with offensive weapons from happening, as well as future-proofing the law.’
Mr Matheson added: ‘Possession of offensive weapons was down 69 per cent from 2006 to 2016, and we are continuing to work with schools and local authorities on anti-violence campaigns to reduce incidents further.’
‘More barriers put in place’