The lawful sale and importation of a certain substance has been linked to nearly 100 UK deaths, leading families of the bereaved demanding government intervention
A gap in the UK’s law on harmful substances is being exploited to sell lethal doses of certain poisons. Poisons with ordinary-use purposes for homes and businesses are subject to misuse, and recently, one such substance has been connected to 99 UK deaths.
In the Home Office’s efforts to avoid adding an extra burden on legitimate users and businesses, the Poisons Act allows for the lawful sale of certain substances and poisons (such as cleaning agents and pesticides).
The legitimate-use case for certain substances keeps the fees and shipping process for such substances into the UK relatively low and simple. This is thought to have enabled the suspected actions of alleged serial killer Kenneth Law to ship lethal poison into the UK.
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Law is suspected of supplying the poison to vulnerable people in the UK who intend to commit suicide with poison via online forums. The Mirror has taken the editorial decision not to name the poison or the forum.
Despite the fact that it is illegal to assist in another person’s suicide in this country, the Canadian national is suspected of selling and shipping lethal doses of a lawful substance to individuals across the UK.
Police say Kenneth, 59, may have sent a total of 1,200 packages to people in 40 countries. He is facing 14 murder charges in Ontario. He is in custody and his trial is expected to begin next January.
David Parfett, whose 22 year-old son Tom died after purchasing the poison online and ingesting it, said he tested for himself how easy it was to obtain the poison. “I know from my own personal experience having ordered it three times now that it still gets through to people.”
David said he was easily able to procure the substance from a seller in the UK. “Actually having a container with this poison delivered through my door, knowing that was what my son had done, made me sick,” he said.
Pete Aitken’s daughter Hannah (22) also died after ingesting the poison which she ordered from a seller in Malaysia. During Hannah’s inquest in November 2024, Assistant Coroner for Surrey, Anna Loxton, raised concerns that the use of the poison for self-harm was increasing.
In the Prevention of Future Deaths Report for Hannah Aitken, Loxton contends: “The quantities and purity in which [the poison] are sold do not appear to be those required for their legitimate use.” Pete is now calling on the Government to take this issue seriously, saying “action needs to be taken.”
In the inquest files for Hannah Aitken, the Home Office confirms the legitimate use fee of £39.50 and counters that further regulation would have ‘minimal’ effect for suicide prevention.
The Home Office states that a person seeking to purchase a regulated product would have to apply for a licence (at a cost of £39.50) and attests that this presents “a significant and disproportionate barrier to the purchase of [the substance]”. The Home Office further states that “the benefit in terms of suicide prevention achieved by regulating the purchase of [redacted substance] would be minimal.”
While the National Crime Agency (NCA) is currently investigating the poison and Law awaits trial in Canada for first-degree murder and aiding suicide, reports show that other sellers have continued to sell the substance. The sale and importation of the substance in the UK remains lawful under The Poisons Act 1972.
The lack of government action is notable when compared to the hasty government ban of another widely misused, once-lawful substance: mephedrone. Mephedrone (street named “meow meow”) was previously readily available for purchase over the internet and became popular as a party drug among teens and young adults.
But after being linked to 25 deaths in England and Scotland, emergency legislation was enacted to ban mephedrone and reclassify it as a Class B drug in 2010.
As reported by The Guardian, mephedrone was easy to purchase over the internet where it was marketed as “plant food,” with websites only offering a disclaimer that the product was “not for human consumption”.
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In response to the recent poison deaths, a government spokesperson said: “We are committed to protecting communities from harmful substances, with Border Force working around the clock to stop them at the border.” They continued: “Recent changes to the Poisons Act have strengthened controls and improved reporting of suspicious activity.”
The Mirror has also reached out to the Office for Product Safety and Standards and Department for Business & Trade and National Trading Standards for comment.
The Molly Rose Foundation, which has brought together three bereaved families and one survivor affected by the poison, is calling for the reclassification of the poison to inhibit sales to UK citizens as well as enhanced digital safety protocols to ban access to the pro-suicide site and similar forums.
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