UK retailers could be fined up to £1 million for selling knives to minors

There are currently no sentencing guidelines for selling knives to minors.

Of nearly 90 organisations sentenced between 2016 and 2020, 99% were fined between £150 to £200,000.

Retailers could be fined up to £1 million for selling knives to underage customers under new draft sentencing guidelines.

Two guidelines apply separately to individual shop owners and large retailers who fail to ensure that they have adequate safeguards in place to prevent the sale of knives to under 18s in England and Wales, either in store or online.