Director of website which sold machete to Southport attacker showed no ‘curiosity’

The director of an online knife retailer which sold a machete to the Southport attacker had no “curiosity” about who he was selling to, he has accepted at the public inquiry.

Axel Rudakubana bought the Black Panther kukri machete, which had a 16.5 inch blade, from the Knife Warehouse in October 2023, when he was 17.

He used a kitchen knife bought from Amazon when he carried out the attack on a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on July 29 2024, murdering Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine.

Giving evidence at Liverpool Town Hall on Tuesday, Joseph Wheeler, managing director of Knife Warehouse, said the website had probably sold more than 100 machetes in 2023, although he said they no longer stocked them.

Intentions

Inquiry chairman Sir Adrian Fulford asked: “Is it your evidence that those machetes your company sold were in your view all going to be used by whoever bought them to cut vegetation?”

Mr Wheeler replied: “I couldn’t tell you what their intentions were, to be honest.”

Asked if he had “any curiosity at all” about who was buying the items and why they wanted them, Mr Wheeler said he paid particular attention to “gang areas”.

Sir Adrian said: “When it comes to it, you don’t actually really have any curiosity about who you are selling these to?”

Mr Wheeler replied: “I suppose not, sir.”

Counsel to the inquiry Nicholas Moss KC asked why the knife which Rudakubana bought was entirely black in colour.

Mr Wheeler said: “I’ve no idea. That’s just how they came. Black seems to be the most popular colour.”

‘Ferocious’

Mr Moss said: “A Black Panther Kukri machete with a completely black silhouette, it might be thought, is named and branded in a way to make it look as ferocious a weapon as possible, is that fair?”

Mr Wheeler replied: “Maybe so.

“I never thought about that at the time or I didn’t think of it in that way.”

The inquiry heard when making the purchase, Rudakubana used a driving licence which belonged to a man who was in his 60s and living in Uxbridge as age verification.

Mr Wheeler said he believed the ID was genuine.

Asked if it “rang alarm bells” that the order was being delivered to Banks, Lancashire, more than 200 miles away from the address, he said: “I can’t remember because it was two years ago, but I didn’t spot anything or don’t remember anything at the time.”

He said the company, based in Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire, now asked customers for proof of address as well as ID when verifying that they were over 18.

The inquiry was shown photos of the package sent to Rudakubana, including a postage label which said “age verification” and “over 18 only”.

Checks

Mr Moss said Royal Mail, who delivered the parcel, had done checks and it appears the package was received by Rudakubana’s father, Alphonse.

The packaging did not advise that it contained a bladed item, which Mr Moss said was a legal requirement at the time.

He asked: “You did not meet your legal duty in that respect in terms of the delivery, would you agree?”

Mr Wheeler replied: “Well this is the first time I have seen this parcel but it appears not to be on there, yes.”

The inquiry will hear more evidence relating to online knife sales on Tuesday.