Acid sales to be restricted, says Rudd as leadership rumours rumble
Home Secretary Amber Rudd has announced plans to outlaw the carrying of acids in public, with sales to people under-18 to be banned after a spate of attacks across the UK she described as "absolutely revolting".
Speaking at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, amid news that assaults involving corrosive substances more than doubled in England since 2012, the home secretary stressed that people will be stopped from carrying acid in public without good reason to do so.
Rudd, who was also reported to have hired pollster Lynton Crosby in a move that sparked rumours she is preparing a bid to replace Theresa May as party leader and Prime Minister, also said the government would curb the sales of sulphuric acid, considering they could be used to make “mother of Satan” homemade explosives.
"We have all seen the pictures of victims that never fully recover - endless surgeries, lives ruined.
"So today, I am also announcing a new offence, to prevent the sale of acids to under-18s," she told the conference.
New laws targettng people caught carrying acid in public would imitate current legislation around knife crime, which carries a maximum of four years imprisonment, a fine or both.
Similarly the crackdown on the sale of corrosive substances would mirror laws on knives, which bans the sale to under 18's and involves a penalty of six months in prison, or a fine.
Rudd's conference speech comprised a number of other policy announcements, including sentences of up to 15 years in prison for people who repeatedly view extremist material online, new technology to track down indecent images of children online and remove them, and making it illegal to keep certain types of weapons such as flick knives and 'zombie' knives at home.