A police review has found that it is more difficult to buy paracetamol in the United Kingdom than it is to buy a knife.
The revelation comes as the government introduces stricter measures to combat knife crime, including tougher prison sentences for retailers who sell blades to under-18s and new requirements for businesses to report suspicious or bulk purchases of knives that could be resold via social media.
These measures, collectively known as Ronan’s Law, are named after 16-year-old Ronan Kanda, who was fatally stabbed in Wolverhampton in 2022 in a case of mistaken identity.
His killers had picked up an online order containing a machete and a ninja sword on the morning of the attack.
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Ronan’s mother, Pooja Kanda, welcomed the new measures, telling Sky News, “What a legacy to have in my son’s name. Ronan will live on, he will live on making the difference that the laws exist, that’s a legacy.”
She further expressed concern over how easily young people can obtain dangerous weapons, saying, “The murderer of my son just was getting these type of weapons and selling (on social media).
“How scary is that? He was able to get them freely on his mother’s ID and mother’s bank account and then he was selling it for more profit to other children.”
Metropolitan Police Commander Stephen Clayman, the national lead for knife crime, underscored the severity of the issue, stating, “The age verification is a huge vulnerability, both in terms of at point of sale and at delivery. We know that through the tragic stories we hear and have heard, but it continues that there are huge flaws that need to be addressed.”
He added, “Bizarrely, it is harder to buy paracetamol in some respects than it is to buy a knife. And that can’t be right.”
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