“Ronan’s Law” to impact retailer and online platform liability for knife sales

The question

How will the UK’s proposal to crack down on the online sale of knives impact retailers?

The key takeaway

Following the Independent end-to-end review of online knife sales (Review), the Home Office has announced its intention to implement stricter rules for online retailers selling knives and harsher penalties for those failing to adhere to them. At present, the Home Office seeks to tighten controls through increased age verification standards at the point of purchase and delivery; requiring retailers to report bulk suspicious purchases of knives; increasing the criminal and civil penalties for non-adherence; and exploring whether a registration scheme should be put in place for all online retailers selling knives.

The background

As part the Government’s ambition to halve knife crime within the next decade, the Home Office commissioned the Review to investigate the sale and delivery process crucial to individuals obtaining knives online. The Review identifies the scope of new rules as including:

• UK based retailers who generally operate by importing wholesale knives into the UK and selling them to consumers
• international retailers who can sell directly to consumers into the UK with limited intervention and import knives on an individual basis
• ·online marketplaces that allow users to host online shops or sell products online, and
• the grey market where sellers make sales outside traditional search results. This market often consists of private sellers who resell goods through platforms such as social media.

  As emphasised in the Review, selling knives is not inherently a criminal offence; rather, the intention of the new regulations is to make the acquisition of knives for illicit purposes more difficult.

  The development

  The Home Office has proposed legislation (dubbed Ronan’s Law) to be included in the Crime and Policing Bill currently in the early stages of Parliamentary review, covering:

• stricter age verification standards for the purchase of knives online at the point of purchase and point of delivery
• mandatory sales reporting for any bulk or suspicious purchases of knives to the police, to disrupt the grey market and prevent the illegal resale of knives
• increased criminal sentences and civil penalties for failure to adhere to Government requirements (applicable to the individual who processed the sale, the deliverer of the knife, or the CEO of the retail company), and
• a potential mandatory registration scheme for online knife retailers.

  Why is this important?

  Increased responsibility is being placed on retailers to ensure that knives aren’t ending up in the wrong hands. If implemented as discussed, Ronan’s Law could result in couriers, front-line retail staff, as well as company executives, being held liable for offences.

  Any practical tips?

  Ronan’s Law is expected to be included in the Crime and Policing Bill currently in the early stages of Parliamentary review. As it remains under review, there is potential for the Government’s proposed legislation to change. However, this review period presents an opportunity for retailers and platforms to evaluate current systems for vulnerabilities and their alignment with the Government’s primary considerations, namely:

• age verification: what are your business (or your business’s delivery partners’) current age verification protocols, and are they easily adaptable to meet an increased standard of enforcement?
• police reporting procedures: consider whether to put procedures in place to train and support front-line employees in recognising and reporting bulk/suspicious knife purchases
• current moderation policies:social media platforms and search engines will want to consider what current moderation policies are in place that consider localised UK legislation concerning knife sales.

Keep an eye on this space for future updates on Ronan’s Law and its potential impact on players in the e-commerce and online marketplace spaces.

Spring 2025