Labour’s Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker has called for a crackdown on the illegal sale of knives to under-18s.

In a letter to Chief Executives of Local Authorities and Chief Police Officers, he emphasised concerns about young people's access to knives and asked for increased activity to tackle the problem.

Knife retailers in the ten police force areas in England and Wales, that are the focus of the Government's Tackling Knives Action Programme, will face 'mystery shopper' visits by underage children, under the supervision of police and Trading Standards officers.

In the last year alone, a range of tough penalties have been rolled out to get across the message that carrying a knife is unacceptable, including doubling the maximum sentence for carrying a knife from two to four years, giving teachers the power to search pupils for weapons in schools and increasing the use of stop and search.

Anyone over the age of 16 caught in possession of a knife can now expect to be prosecuted on the first offence. Those under 16 can still expect to receive at least a caution coupled with a knife education scheme to help them understand the potentially devastating consequences of carrying knives.

Labour’s Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker said:

"We are committed to tackling knife crime and getting knives off our streets. We have introduced tough laws including increasing the minimum age at which someone can be sold a knife from 16 to 18 and penalties for shopkeepers who do break the law.

"Knife crime is a complex issue which we all need to work together to solve. Enforcement action is one part of the solution and that is why I am today calling on our partners in the police and Trading Standards to get tough with anyone illegally selling knives to under-18s. I want to see more test purchasing operations like those being undertaken in Birmingham to catch any unscrupulous retailers."