Social media bosses who fail to stop illegal knives being advertised on their sites could be fined £10,000 by police, under the Government’s plans.

The Interior Ministry said proposed measures, announced on Wednesday, to make senior tech executives “personally accountable” were aimed at tackling “the unacceptable use of social media and online marketplaces to market weapons illegal and glorify violence” and to ensure that content is promptly removed.

Police will have the power to issue notices to senior executives of online companies and order them to remove specific adverts and content, potentially within two days, if the plans progress.

Executives can then send a second notice if the company still doesn’t act, which would hold the executive personally liable for a “significant fine” if they don’t act.

How much a person could be fined and the maximum sentence has not yet been determined, with responses to the court’s proposals and directions to be considered. But consultation documents on the plans suggest a rough example of £10,000 for the worst offenders, according to the PA news agency.

The move is the latest step in ministers’ efforts to deliver on Labor’s manifesto pledge to halve knife crime levels over the next decade.

It comes as plans to ban ninja-style swords continue following the campaign by Pooja Kanda, the mother of Ronan Kanda, 16, who was killed in Wolverhampton by two 17-year-olds in 2022 in using the weapon purchased online. a false name and picked up at a post office.

A consultation to decide the definition and description of the weapon is also being published, marking the first step towards the change in the law coming into force.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said perpetrators “must face the full force of the law” as she announced “tough new penalties”, adding: “The epidemic of knife crime which has developed over the past decade is devastating families and communities across the country. .

“That’s why this Government has set itself an unprecedented mission to halve knife crime over the next decade and today we are taking determined action to take deadly weapons off Britain’s streets .”

Ms Kanda said: “I am very relieved that today the government has kept its promise to proactively ban the ninja sword that killed my son and protect others from the same fate. »

Commander Stephen Clayman, who leads the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s work on knife crime and is currently carrying out a study into online arms sales for the Home Office, added: “Since For too long, deadly weapons have been far too easily accessible online. , with content promoting their use for protection and combat, spread across many platforms and seemingly little being done to remove it.

“We welcome the opportunity to participate in the consultation and explore the most effective ways to achieve this, including using the findings of the ongoing review of online sales.”