Keyham: Minister vows to "prioritise' response

YET TO GIVE AN OFFICIAL REACTION TO CONSULTATION ON FIREARMS REFORM

- CARL EVE

THE new Policing Minister has said she will 'prioritise' making an official response to the consultation on firearms reform, made in the wake of the Keyham tragedy, after intervention from Plymouth's MP Luke Pollard.

In a letter to Mr Pollard, Dame Diana Johnson, Labour's Crime and Policing Minister, said she recognised how the MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport had worked "tirelessly" on behalf of the families of those killed by Jake Davison on August 12, 2021 and on behalf of his constituents.

She has written to him saying it was her intention that the Government "will publish a formal response to that consultation as soon as we are able to." Nearly a year after Plymouth's senior coroner issued a report recommending changes to the licensing laws in the wake of the Keyham shooting, along with evidence from the Independent Office for Police Conduct, the previous Conservative Government said it would not take on board all the recommendations.

Instead, the then Policing Minister Chris Philp claimed "shotguns are already subject to significant controls" and that further changes to the Firearms Act were "unnecessary" and would have a "negative impact" on their legitimate use by farmers and those involved in "rural pursuits".