DAME DIANA JOHNSON: Ronan's memory deserves nothing less than real change to knife laws

Every day across Britain, thousands of parents wave off their children at the doorstep, never thinking it will be the last time they hug them goodbye.

But too many families have had their lives torn apart after losing a loved one to knife crime. Pooja Kanda is one of those mothers and she is one of the strongest people I have ever worked with.

Her son, Ronan, was just 16 when he was murdered in 2022 with a ninja sword in a case of mistaken identity. An innocent child just walking home to his family, killed by a deadly weapon bought online with no legitimate purpose beyond causing harm and collected at a local Post Office.

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Since that tragic day, Pooja and her family have shown extraordinary courage to relentlessly campaign for the banning of these weapons and raise awareness about the dangers of carrying knives.

Ronan’s memory deserves nothing less than our unwavering commitment to create communities where every child can walk home safely. Halving knife crime is one of this government’s central missions and since day one, we have acted with urgency.

Today ninja swords are officially banned delivering the first part of what we’re calling ‘Ronan’s Law’, as promised in our manifesto. As part of our Plan for Change, anyone possessing, manufacturing, importing or selling a ninja sword will now face up to six months in prison.

And our Crime and Policing Bill will up the sentence for carrying an illegal weapon to up to two years prison time. Ahead of this ban, we gave people the opportunity to surrender their ninja swords, and other dangerous weapons, and in just one month more than 1,000 weapons were handed in.

The fact that Ronan’s killer could purchase such a weapon highlights the shocking accessibility of these blades. That is why we will also bring forward the toughest measures to date to tackle the sale of weapons online.

Retailers will have to report suspicious knife orders to the police; put in place stronger age-verification checks and tech executives whose platforms fail to prevent illegal sales will face significant penalties. I want to thank Pooja, her family and all those including the coalition to tackle knife crime who campaign tirelessly to stop knife crime.

Their voices and experiences will help us to create real change and help ensure our children can return home safely every evening.

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