An investigation has revealed the apparent ease with which so-called ‘Zombie killer’ knives can be bought online with little or no age verification.
Conservative Candidate for Mayor of London, Zac Goldsmith has called for tougher checks to prevent their sale to under 18s, as part of a broader package to tackle knife crime.
The Met police have previously warned that teenage members of London’s gangs were using so-called ‘Zombie killer’ knives as status symbols.
After conversations with the Police, Zac Goldsmith worked with the Godwin Lawson Foundation to investigate how easily such weapons could be purchased online.
Shockingly, a volunteer on Zac’s campaign was reportedly able to purchase a Zombie ‘Pestilence Chopper’ Knife online without any age-verification in a matter of minutes using an Amazon Gift Card on a brand new account.
The 10.25 inch blade – described with the slogan “the rules no longer apply”– was delivered within a day and no ID was asked for on delivery.
Amazon includes a disclaimer on their site saying “This bladed product is not for sale to people under the age of 18. A signature may be required on delivery.”
However, no signature or identification was requested when it was delivered a day later.
Although crime overall has fallen by 17% under Boris, knife crime against under25s increased by 22% last year according to the Mayoral candidate.
'Difficult to comprehend how easy it is for young people to buy knives'
Zac Goldsmith said that if he was elected as Mayor, he will work with Amazon, eBay and other online retailers to strengthen procedures to make it harder for under 18’s to buy knives, and to stop the sale of knives branded as ‘Zombie killers’.
Yvonne Lawson of the Godwin Lawson Foundation, whose seventeen-year-old son tragically died in 2010 after being stabbed, said: “As a mother who had lost my son to knife crime, it was difficult to comprehend how easy it is for young people to buy knives on the internet.
“I decided to put this theory to the test, and I was astonished by how easy it was to purchase a knife on eBay, a very easy process with no checks. A serious factor to our rise in knife crime”
Zac Goldsmith said: “One of the first duties of the Mayor is to keep Londoners safe.
“We won’t solve knife crime overnight, but the first point of any plan should be to take as many knives off the streets as possible. That’s why I back the sensitive use of Stop and Search.”
“We also need to tackle the supply of knives.
“I share the concerns of the police over the availability of so-called ‘zombie killer’ knives and as Mayor I will work with them, the Government and online retailers to strengthen the rules so that the law is being properly enforced."
