AMAZON, Tesco and Argos have been caught selling knives to teens – at a time when Britain is in the grip of a stabbing epidemic.
It is illegal for shops in England and Wales to sell knives with a fixed blade of more than three inches long to anyone under the age of 18.
Retailers currently face six months in jail or a fine of up to £5,000 for underage knife sales.
However a 16-year-old actress was able to purchase a kitchen knife from three major retailers.
In an undercover BBC Watchdog investigation Tesco sold a knife to the 16-year-old in three out of five stores visited, while Argos sold a blade in one.
All five Amazon drivers delivered knives to the 16-year-old without checking ID – breaking the retail giant’s age check policy and the government’s voluntary agreement on sale of knives to which the retailer has signed up.
Wilkos, Asda and TK Maxx did not sell a knife to the underage investigator.
All six retailers signed up to a voluntary code last year committing to check the ID of anyone they suspect of being under 21 before selling or delivering a knife to them.
Duncan Ball, Knife Crime Lead at the National Police Chiefs Council, slammed the retailers for selling knives to underage teens.
He said: “Finding out a young person has been able to purchase knives is very concerning.
“Broadly we find that about a fifth to a quarter of stores do supply to young people. Predominantly we see knives that are easily obtainable, so in the main it is kitchen knives.”
Last year bargain superstore B&M was fined a record £480,000 after selling knives to teens as young as 14 in East London.
The retailer admitted selling blades to under-18s after being caught in council undercover stings on three occasions.
Police and trading standards officials sent four teenagers into stores in Barking and Chadwell Heath where they were able to purchase blades, including a large carving knife.
On Sunday night Junior McCauley, 18, became the ninth teen knifed to death in London this year when he was chased and stabbed to death in Southwark.
The teen was the 29th person to be killed by a knife in London this year and the 46th murder probe launched by Scotland Yard.
Last Wednesday night 15-year-old Tashaun Aird, an aspiring music producer, was knifed to death in Hackney. His death made him the youngest person to be killed by a blade attack after Jaden Moodie, 14, was murdered in January.
Figures last week revealed five young people are attacked with a knife every day in London.
In response to the shocking findings, a spokesman for Amazon said: “We take our responsibility in relation to the sale of knives extremely seriously and follow all regulations.
“Drivers undergo training in age verification delivery, regular audits monitor compliance and if drivers fail to follow our guidelines they will face action which can include no longer delivering orders to our customers.”
A Tesco spokesman said: “The responsible sale of knives is something we take very seriously and so we are disappointed to learn of the results of Watchdog’s tests and we apologise for this.
“We have comprehensive protocols in place to oversee the sale of knives including regular training and assessment for all store colleagues, unannounced test purchases, prompts on our tills to remind colleagues to ask for proof of age, security tagging and ongoing engagement with local police authorities. We will be reiterating these protocols and highlighting their importance in the stores tested in the investigation.
“We no longer sell knives in Tesco Express or through our home delivery service, and we are phasing out the sale of knives in Tesco Metros and single knives in over half of our large stores.
“Where we do continue to sell knives, as part of our kitchen range, we will introduce enhanced measures around their sale and security.”
Argos said: “We have clear responsibilities as a retailer and operate a strict Think 25 policy our colleagues are trained to enforce. We’re urgently investigating why this process was not followed in this case.”
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