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As 17th London teenager dies shops are still selling knives
Amar Singh, Evening Standard18 Aug 2008
This chilling selection of knives was sold illegally to a teenager in two suburban London shopping centres - one in the borough where Nilanthan Murddi was knifed to death.
Seventeen-year-old Kurran Vasdev was able to buy eight blades in the space of a few hours as part of an Evening Standard investigation.
He was sold kitchen knives in Croydon, where Nilanthan became the 17th teenager stabbed to death in the capital this year, and a hunting knife and folding saw in Enfield, which has also been hit by the rise in stabbings.
Last year the law was changed to ban the sale of knives to anyone under 18. Most shops in our investigation followed the correct procedure and asked Kurran for identification. However, some of British retail's most familiar names sold knives to a minor.
In Croydon's Whitgift Centre, Kurran bought an £18 kitchen knife set at Bhs saying his mother was " waiting in the car". In a nearby Allders, two cashiers seemed oblivious to the law as they sold an 8in knife without asking any questions.
In Enfield's main shopping area, Palace Gardens, Kurran bought a £24.99 Huntsman knife with two 6in blades from Millets, despite the cashier taking the item from a locked cabinet with a sticker on it saying "proof of ID needed". In a Lidl superstore, he bought a 1ft folding handsaw with a serrated edge for £2.99. The cashier joked: "You're not going to go out and kill someone are you?"
In Argos a computer screen flashed a reminder to ask for ID after the knife was scanned by the cashier. In some stores, including Marks & Spencer and Pearsons, Kurran was approached by staff and reminded he would need to prove he was 18.
Our findings have been reported to Croydon and Enfield councils' trading standards officers and the police.
A spokeswoman for Croydon council said: "Whenever we are aware of an offence we will prosecute and we will be acting on the information you have provided."
An Enfield spokeswoman said: "The council's trading standards officers will investigate further and will not hesitate in taking firm action if such products are sold to those under age."
A Bhs spokeswoman said the company was "deeply disturbed" by our findings and it was "grateful to you for bringing this instance to our attention".
Max Menonof Allders said: "Our policy is to ask anyone who looks under 21 for ID. I have spoken to the individual concerned and she said that she thought he looked around 23. It's a judgment call at the end of the day and we won't be taking action." A Millets spokeswoman said: "We are extremely disappointed. The employee made a decision to ignore the training provided and the prompt on the till."
A spokesman for Lidl said: "This matter will be thoroughly investigated. However, we can confirm that all staff working in the affected store have received detailed training on age-restricted sales."
In the five years to 2006, the latest available-data, no one prosecuted for selling knives to under-16s was jailed. The 71 people convicted were fined an average £411.The maximum penalty is £5,000.
Reader views (3)
good job kurrrann .
- Roddy, Croydon, 08/10/2008 10:25
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Hardly surprising - although to be honest, even if 100% of retailers enforced the law, it would be unlikely to change anything, as most of the knives carried on the street come from the home.
- Mark Lee, Vauxhall, 08/10/2008 09:25
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All this is futile as you will never stop knives being sold - You can not police Market stalls or boot sales. And we all know second hand knives are cheaper and not incriminating as no one will know its origin like a new one.
- Stephen Abbs, Croydon Surrey, 08/10/2008 09:25
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