This initiative follows the tragic Southport knife attack, where the perpetrator, Axel Rudakubana, bought a knife from Amazon at the age of 17, despite existing laws prohibiting sales to those under 18.

Under the proposed measures, online retailers will be required to ask customers for a form of identification, such as a passport, and to provide a live video verification to confirm their age.

Platforms like Amazon only ask for a date of birth and state that proof of age is required at delivery.

Commander Stephen Clayman, leading a review of online knife sales, has indicated that these stronger ID checks are part of a broader strategy to combat knife crime, which has surged by 54% in England and Wales since 2016.

The government aims to halve knife crime over the next decade and has already announced penalties for tech company executives who fail to address illegal knife sales on their platforms.

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Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer emphasized the need for these measures, stating that it remains too easy for children to access dangerous knives online.

He called for the use of technology to establish effective age-verification checks for all knife orders.