KEIR STARMER PLEDGES TECH BOSSES WILL PAY FINES FOR KNIVES SOLD ONLINE
- Sir Keir Starmer revealed tough approach as he met relatives of knife-crime
- It would mirror sanctions being introduced as part of the Online Safety Bill
- Tech chiefs face jail terms if social media sites fail to protect children
Tech bosses could face prison if they let deadly knives be sold on their online platforms under a Labour government.
Party leader Sir Keir Starmer revealed the tough approach as he met the grieving relatives of knife-crime victims with actor and campaigner Idris Elba in London.
It would mirror sanctions introduced as part of the Online Safety Bill, which mean tech chiefs face up to two years in jail if their social media sites repeatedly fail to protect children from harm.
Labour will introduce fines for bosses whose platforms allow the sale of deadly blades, such as panther machetes similar to the one used to kill 19-year-old Shawn Seesahai in Wolverhampton last year.
Two 12-year-old boys were found guilty of the murder earlier this month.
A Labour government would also look at extending custodial sentences for tech bosses in extreme cases.
Sir Keir also pledged to ban the online sale of 'zombie knives'.
He is hoping the crackdown, which involves creating a coalition that brings together ministers, campaigners and grieving families, would help to halve knife crime over ten years.
He told the Daily Mail: 'To end the scourge of knife crime, we need to take dangerous knives off our streets. That starts by tackling online sales.
'To the tech companies hosting knife sales, I say come and work with us as part of our coalition and let's make progress together.
'But taking proper action will not continue to be voluntary. My Labour government will introduce sanctions for tech bosses who don't take action to remove knives from their sites.
'One of the families here, their son was murdered by a knife that was ordered online… and picked up by a 15-year-old who didn't need to show any identification.'
Elba, 51, launched an anti-knife-crime campaign called Don't Stop Your Future in January, and insisted the issue should be 'non-political'.