This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/mar/15/amazon-knives-age-checks-bailey-gwynne
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Amazon delivering knives without age checks, Guardian investigation finds | Amazon delivering knives without age checks, Guardian investigation finds |
| (about 16 hours later) | |
| Amazon is selling age-restricted folding knives, similar to one used by the 16-year-old killer of schoolboy Bailey Gwynne, without checking they are safely delivered to adults, a Guardian investigation has found. | Amazon is selling age-restricted folding knives, similar to one used by the 16-year-old killer of schoolboy Bailey Gwynne, without checking they are safely delivered to adults, a Guardian investigation has found. |
| Last week, a teenager who killed Gwynne in a school in Aberdeen was cleared of murder but convicted of culpable homicide. He had paid £40 on Amazon for a folding knife with an 8.5cm blade. | Last week, a teenager who killed Gwynne in a school in Aberdeen was cleared of murder but convicted of culpable homicide. He had paid £40 on Amazon for a folding knife with an 8.5cm blade. |
| It is illegal to sell a folding knife to a buyer aged under 18 if the blade is more than three inches (7.62cm) long. But the 16-year-old had been able to get around Amazon’s age-verification checks by pinning a note to his front door rather than accepting delivery in person. | It is illegal to sell a folding knife to a buyer aged under 18 if the blade is more than three inches (7.62cm) long. But the 16-year-old had been able to get around Amazon’s age-verification checks by pinning a note to his front door rather than accepting delivery in person. |
| The Guardian posted a similar note on the door of a family home over the weekend and was also able to receive delivery of an age-restricted knife from Amazon without any checks. | The Guardian posted a similar note on the door of a family home over the weekend and was also able to receive delivery of an age-restricted knife from Amazon without any checks. |
| Backbench Conservative MP David Burrowes said the laws governing knife sales should be tightened up. | Backbench Conservative MP David Burrowes said the laws governing knife sales should be tightened up. |
| Burrowes said: “We need a change in the law which introduces a ‘triple lock’ check when selling knives, so retailers can prove whether they have taken all reasonable precautions to prevent underage sales and to avoid committing an offence. The checks would be age verification on delivery; online age verification checks and follow-up offline checks.” | Burrowes said: “We need a change in the law which introduces a ‘triple lock’ check when selling knives, so retailers can prove whether they have taken all reasonable precautions to prevent underage sales and to avoid committing an offence. The checks would be age verification on delivery; online age verification checks and follow-up offline checks.” |
| The Guardian ordered two folding knives on Amazon, each with a blade of 9.5cm. The website made clear: “This bladed product is not for sale to people under the age of 18. A signature may be required on delivery.” | The Guardian ordered two folding knives on Amazon, each with a blade of 9.5cm. The website made clear: “This bladed product is not for sale to people under the age of 18. A signature may be required on delivery.” |
| Order-tracking details on the website said the knives would be delivered by Amazon Logistics – one to a family home, the other to Guardian offices – in a package marked “Age 18”. In fact, Amazon Logistics has no drivers and contracts out deliveries to many small- and medium-sized couriers across the country. | Order-tracking details on the website said the knives would be delivered by Amazon Logistics – one to a family home, the other to Guardian offices – in a package marked “Age 18”. In fact, Amazon Logistics has no drivers and contracts out deliveries to many small- and medium-sized couriers across the country. |
| A note attached to the front door of the family home asked the delivery driver to drop off the parcel without knocking. Post room staff at the Guardian, meanwhile, declined to sign for the knife. In both instances, the knife was nevertheless delivered. | A note attached to the front door of the family home asked the delivery driver to drop off the parcel without knocking. Post room staff at the Guardian, meanwhile, declined to sign for the knife. In both instances, the knife was nevertheless delivered. |
| A note on the door of the residential house was similar to one that had been left for an Amazon courier by the 16-year-old who killed Gwynne in order to get around the online retailer’s age checks. | A note on the door of the residential house was similar to one that had been left for an Amazon courier by the 16-year-old who killed Gwynne in order to get around the online retailer’s age checks. |
| The boy who carried out the stabbing explained to police how he had bought the knife online “because they don’t check if you’re 18 or not”. He said: “You just leave a note on the door saying there’s no one in and asking for the package to be left in the shed.” | The boy who carried out the stabbing explained to police how he had bought the knife online “because they don’t check if you’re 18 or not”. He said: “You just leave a note on the door saying there’s no one in and asking for the package to be left in the shed.” |
| The teenager, who was said to be preoccupied with weapons, was also convicted last week of carrying knives and knuckledusters in school. His internet search history showed he had looked up “knife merchant”, “illegal knives UK” and “knuckleduster UK”. | The teenager, who was said to be preoccupied with weapons, was also convicted last week of carrying knives and knuckledusters in school. His internet search history showed he had looked up “knife merchant”, “illegal knives UK” and “knuckleduster UK”. |
| Gwynne died in hospital after being stabbed at his school in Aberdeen last October. He had been attacked during a row over a biscuit. His killer was also convicted last week of carrying knives and knuckledusters in a school. | Gwynne died in hospital after being stabbed at his school in Aberdeen last October. He had been attacked during a row over a biscuit. His killer was also convicted last week of carrying knives and knuckledusters in a school. |
| Amazon has refused to comment on the sale of the knife used to kill Gwynne. It is now looking into the circumstances around the Guardian’s knife purchases, but again declined to comment. It believes sufficient age restriction checks were made on the knife delivered to the Guardian’s post room. | Amazon has refused to comment on the sale of the knife used to kill Gwynne. It is now looking into the circumstances around the Guardian’s knife purchases, but again declined to comment. It believes sufficient age restriction checks were made on the knife delivered to the Guardian’s post room. |
| The Home Office said there were “strict laws on sales of knives to under 18s and on how knives can be marketed”. On Monday, the home secretary, Theresa May, met online and high street retailers, including Amazon, to discuss how better to enforce age restrictions on the sale of certain knives. | The Home Office said there were “strict laws on sales of knives to under 18s and on how knives can be marketed”. On Monday, the home secretary, Theresa May, met online and high street retailers, including Amazon, to discuss how better to enforce age restrictions on the sale of certain knives. |
| In December, the Guardian was also able to buy on Amazon a 1m volt stun gun almost identical to a weapon that weeks earlier had featured in another murder trial. | In December, the Guardian was also able to buy on Amazon a 1m volt stun gun almost identical to a weapon that weeks earlier had featured in another murder trial. |
| Nathan Matthews, who was eventually convicted of the murder of his step sister Becky Watts, last year told a jury in Bristol how he had bought two stun guns, disguised as torches, on the internet for £18 using his mobile phone. | Nathan Matthews, who was eventually convicted of the murder of his step sister Becky Watts, last year told a jury in Bristol how he had bought two stun guns, disguised as torches, on the internet for £18 using his mobile phone. |
| He told the court he had not known they were illegal, but Matthews explained he had intended to use them on Watts until she passed out as part of a kidnap attempt — an attempt that was botched, ending in her death. | He told the court he had not known they were illegal, but Matthews explained he had intended to use them on Watts until she passed out as part of a kidnap attempt — an attempt that was botched, ending in her death. |
| The stun gun bought by the Guardian also doubled as a torch. The Amazon seller — a company in Missouri, America — said in an email: “We are technically not supposed to sell these in the UK”. The weapon was sent anyway. It was promptly handed over to police. | The stun gun bought by the Guardian also doubled as a torch. The Amazon seller — a company in Missouri, America — said in an email: “We are technically not supposed to sell these in the UK”. The weapon was sent anyway. It was promptly handed over to police. |
| The Guardian has raised concerns that large numbers of illegal weapons are regularly being sold on Amazon and four months ago seven banned items were removed from the UK site. They including a pair of knuckledusters hidden inside gloves, a keychain that doubles as a martial arts weapon, a high-strength pepper spray pistol, and a blade concealed in the peak of a baseball cap. | The Guardian has raised concerns that large numbers of illegal weapons are regularly being sold on Amazon and four months ago seven banned items were removed from the UK site. They including a pair of knuckledusters hidden inside gloves, a keychain that doubles as a martial arts weapon, a high-strength pepper spray pistol, and a blade concealed in the peak of a baseball cap. |
| Pepper spray is marketed in some countries as a self-defence product but is illegal in the UK under the firearms act, and has been used in several violent attacks. | |
| Over the weekend, the Guardian alerted Amazon to nine further pepper spray products illegally sold on its UK website. In a statement, Amazon said it had removed these listings, adding: “All Marketplace sellers must follow our selling guidelines and those who don’t will be subject to action including potential removal of their account.” | Over the weekend, the Guardian alerted Amazon to nine further pepper spray products illegally sold on its UK website. In a statement, Amazon said it had removed these listings, adding: “All Marketplace sellers must follow our selling guidelines and those who don’t will be subject to action including potential removal of their account.” |
| In December, the Guardian found that Amazon itself had been selling a pepper spray product on its UK site. The company has refused to comment on this or to apologise for such sales. | In December, the Guardian found that Amazon itself had been selling a pepper spray product on its UK site. The company has refused to comment on this or to apologise for such sales. |
| In 2008, BBC2’s Watchdog investigated illegal pepper spray products sold by traders on Amazon.co.uk. The website’s then UK boss Brian McBride told the programme the sale of illegal weapons would not be tolerated, and that any offending items identified would be “removed within the hour”. Since then, pepper spray and other dangerous and illegal weapons have reappeared on Amazon. | In 2008, BBC2’s Watchdog investigated illegal pepper spray products sold by traders on Amazon.co.uk. The website’s then UK boss Brian McBride told the programme the sale of illegal weapons would not be tolerated, and that any offending items identified would be “removed within the hour”. Since then, pepper spray and other dangerous and illegal weapons have reappeared on Amazon. |
| Most nationwide retailers, including eBay to Tesco, stay in regular contact with trading standards officials through a “primary authority”. This relationship is designed to make it easier to comply with trading standards laws and improve intelligence about regulatory issues. | Most nationwide retailers, including eBay to Tesco, stay in regular contact with trading standards officials through a “primary authority”. This relationship is designed to make it easier to comply with trading standards laws and improve intelligence about regulatory issues. |
| Amazon ended its relationship with a primary trading standards authority five years ago. | Amazon ended its relationship with a primary trading standards authority five years ago. |
| • This article was amended on 15 March 2016. An earlier version said that in 2014, a 21-year-old bus passenger was attacked with pepper spray and beaten by a man on a journey in Birmingham. In fact a court was told that the man used lemon juice, not pepper spray. |