What does Ronan's Law on knife control mean for UK retailers?

Last week, the Home Office published its proposals for the introduction of Ronan's Law, a package of measures designed to tackle knife crime in the UK. Ronan's Law is aimed at closing loopholes in the online sale of knives and increasing the penalties for knife crime. This may affect luxury goods makers both online and in retail stores - below we outline the key information which may be helpful to those in the retail sector. 

The Government has faced increasing pressure to crack down on knife crime in recent years. 'Ronan's Law' has been named in memory of Ronan Kanda, who was killed in June 2022 by teenagers who had purchased a ninja sword online. 

Luxury goods retailers should pay close attention to the progression of Ronan's Law and consider how they will address the following proposals in particular: 

• Stricter rules for online knife sales: The Government has stated that it will introduce stricter rules for online retailers selling knives, along with tougher penalties for failing to enforce them. Retailers will be required to report any bulk or suspicious-looking purchases of knives to the police to minimise the risk of illegal resales. 

• Increased penalties for selling weapons to minors: The sentence for selling weapons to under 18s will be increased from 6 months to up to 2 years in prison. This sentence could apply to anyone from an individual who has processed the sale to the CEO of the retailer company. This increased penalty will also apply to the sale or supply of prohibited offensive weapons such as recently banned zombie-style knives.

• Consultation on a registration scheme for online knife retailers: The Government will use a consultation later this year to explore whether to introduce a registration scheme for all online retailers selling knives so that only 'responsible' retailers are able to sell knives to the public.

Ronan's Law comes in the wake of two previous Government proposals:

• New verification system for online knife sales:  The Government will introduce a mandatory two-step verification system for all retailers selling knives online, requiring customers to show photo ID at the point of sale and again at the point of delivery. Delivery companies will only be able to deliver a knife to the same person who purchased it. 

• Fines for failure to remove illegal knife crime content:  The Government plans to introduce fines of around £10,000 for executives of tech companies who do not take down illegal knife crime content from their platforms. 

The Home Office has stated that Ronan's Law will be introduced to Parliament in Spring of this year. However, the consequences of the measures will be significant and retailers may want to start preparing now. If you need further advice, please contact us.