The scale of a shocking problem involving the unregulated sale and delivery of knives and machetes in the UK has only recently come to light following the Southport attack.
Around 2,800 unregistered and untracked parcels containing knives and machetes were sent into the UK by one company—Hunting & Knives. This online retailer, based in Spain but trading in the UK, specialised in bladed items. To ship products into the British Isles, Hunting & Knives relied on SJ Henderson, a fulfilment company based in Northern Ireland.
Under UK law, Hunting & Knives was responsible for ensuring that all products containing knives underwent age-verified delivery. However, the ongoing Southport Inquiry has revealed that the company, run by Juan Martinez, believed it was the fulfilment company’s role to ensure products were properly labelled and that identification was checked on delivery.
The inquiry further heard that SJ Henderson was not even aware of the nature of the products it was shipping to the UK. After leaving SJ Henderson, parcels passed through a chain including the “middleman” company Whistl and delivery company Evri. Both Whistl and Evri stated they were not notified about the packet contents; notably, Evri does not offer an age-verified delivery service.
As a result, 2,811 packages were sent by Hunting & Knives and delivered into the UK, “99.9% of which were bladed items.” All should have been subject to age verification—yet none were.
Lead counsel Nicholas Moss KC told proceedings at Liverpool Town Hall:
*“The inquiry cannot know how many of those more than 2,500 knives may have ended up in the hands of children.”*
The true scale of the issue was only exposed after Southport killer Axel Rudakubana successfully placed an order for a kukri Congo machete with a 30.5cm blade. The item was delivered to his home address in Banks, Lancashire, in October 2023.
The weapon was discovered in a black holdall in Rudakubana’s bedroom during a police search following the attack on July 29, 2023. On that day, Rudakubana targeted women and girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance party at the Hart Space in Southport.
Rudakubana, referred to as AR in court proceedings, murdered three young girls—Elsie Dot Stancombe (7), Bebe King (6), and Alice da Silva Aguiar (9)—and injured 10 others.
Giving evidence on Wednesday, Stephen Henderson, CEO of SJ Henderson Fulfilment, said he was unaware Ageo Wholesale—the parent company of Hunting & Knives—was using his firm to ship blades. He acknowledged missed opportunities to obtain this information and expressed shock upon discovering an email stating Hunting & Knives “specialised in knives.”
“My honest understanding was that there was nothing to be cautious about due to the contract we held with them,” Mr. Henderson told the inquiry.
When asked by Mr. Moss if he fell short of his responsibilities, Mr. Henderson replied:
*“Looking back, I would say I fell somewhat short.”*
On whether he found it “very worrying” that the parcels, which should have been labelled “18-plus only”, were delivered without age verification, Henderson responded:
*“Absolutely, and it’s why I’m here today.”*
The inquiry also heard that Mr. Henderson’s company had a contract with logistics firm Whistl, which in turn contracted Evri to carry out the final delivery stage. Nigel Polglass, Chief Operating Officer for Whistl, described it as “deeply concerning” that more than 2,500 bladed items had been dispatched this way.
Mr. Polglass revealed that Whistl’s contract was with Ruach Music, another company owned by Mr. Henderson. He added that Whistl had believed it was handling “items linked to guitars.” When asked who was responsible for ensuring the appropriateness of the dispatched goods, Mr. Polglass pointed to Ruach Music.
Mr. Henderson confirmed that Whistl was aware he was also using them for his fulfilment company.
Christopher Ashworth, Chief Customer Officer of Evri, stated that the courier did not offer age-verified delivery services and was “wholly unaware” that the packages it delivered contained bladed items.
Mr. Henderson said he had terminated his contract with Hunting & Knives after Irish customs intercepted a consignment containing knives, machetes, and a pepperbox revolver—which Mr. Martinez said was a replica.
The inquiry heard that before carrying out the attack, Rudakubana, now 19, amassed an arsenal of weapons including knives, bows and arrows, and castor beans with the intention of making the deadly poison ricin. He also ordered two other machetes that were sent with age-verified delivery but were intercepted by his father, Alphonse.
Rudakubana was jailed for life with a minimum term of 52 years in January at Liverpool Crown Court after admitting the “sadistic” murders and attempted murders.
Inquiry chair Sir Adrian Fulford said:
*“What occurred on that day has made it critically necessary, moreover, to identify all the changes that need to be implemented in order to ensure, as best as our society is able, that there is no repetition.”*
The first phase of the inquiry is expected to run until November and continues to uncover the full extent of failures that allowed these dangerous weapons to reach the public unchecked.
https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/deep-concern-after-2800-untracked-32591959
