Earlier this year Goldsmith met with Home Secretary Theresa May to urge action after his staff were able to buy a so-called ‘Zombie Killer’ knife online without having to pass any age validation checks.
Retailers who fail to confirm the age of buyers are potentially breaking the law which restricts the sale of knives to adults aged 18 and older.
Ms May has now confirmed she will meet online and high street retailers to agree how age verification checks can be improved and has already attended a meeting with the Met and retailers to discuss illegal knife sales.
Her intervention in the Mayoral race is the latest in a series of co-ordinated ministerial announcements aimed at bolstering Goldsmith’s claims that he’s better placed to win a “a good deal for London” than Labour rival Sadiq Khan.
Speaking today, Mr Goldsmith said: “I’m delighted that following my campaign the Home Secretary has agreed to take action on the sale of dangerous knives and Amazon have now removed Zombie Killer knifes from their website.
“Making our streets safer for all Londoners is a key plank of my action plan and taking as many knives of the streets is an essential part of this.
“I am the only candidate that is working with the government to deliver real action for London on crime, transport and housing.”
Mrs May added: “I am pleased that Zac is standing up for Londoners and campaigning to keep them safe from knife crime.
“I am keen to work constructively with retailers to prevent the underage sales of knives, alongside wider action that the Government is taking to tackle violent crime.”
However one rival for the mayoralty and long-time supporter of action to tackle knife crime claimed the results of Mr Goldsmith’s lobbying “are not that promising.”
Liberal Democrat hopeful Caroline Pidgeon said: “This seems a somewhat empty pledge from Zac Goldsmith given that only last week the Daily Mirror revealed Zombie knifes were still on sale. Its all very well to make promises; can he actually deliver?”
