Offensive Weapons Bill will stop retailers selling knives to children online

A person holding a knife - Image credit: PA Images

Children will no longer be able to buy offensive weapons online under new legislation that has been unveiled by the UK Government.

The Offensive Weapons Bill will make it illegal for retailers to sell knives online without proof that the buyer is over 18.

Under the new legislation, they would also be forbidden from delivering knives to residential addresses or drop-off points. 

The proposed new law will also ban the sale of the most dangerous corrosive products, such as sulphuric acid, to under-18s, and make it an offence to be in possession of a corrosive substance in public.

In addition, the sale of certain firearms and firearms accessories, including bump stocks, which are a modification to make semi-automatic weapons fire faster, would also be banned.

The Offensive Weapons Bill is a UK Government bill that combines both devolved and reserved issues around offensive weapons, and it has been developed with input from the Scottish Government.

Scottish ministers will put forward a legislative consent motion in the Scottish Parliament for the parts of the bill that are devolved.

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, on which we have engaged closely with the UK Government, ensures we are going further to prevent incidents with offensive weapons from happening in the first place, as well as future-proofing the law.”

Changes to the law about the sale of knives and other weapons online were one of the recommendations of an inquiry into the fatal stabbing of schoolboy Bailey Gwynne by a fellow pupil at Cults Academy in Aberdeenshire in 2015.