MP blasts Government over gun law reforms

SAYS THEY MUST STOP DRAGGING THEIR FEET OR FACE ANOTHER KEYHAM’

- CARL EVE

A PLYMOUTH MP who has supported families of the victims of the Keyham shootings in August 2021 has said the Government has to stop “dragging its feet”, or the country will face another tragedy.

In June last year, Crime and Policing Minister Chris Philp said the Government would not be taking on board a number of recommendations put forward by Plymouth’s senior coroner, Ian Arrow, claiming “shotguns are already subject to significant controls” and that further changes to the Firearms Act were “unnecessary” and have a “negative impact” on their legitimate use by farmers and those involved in “rural pursuits”.

He wrote that the Government had given “careful consideration to the recommendations”, but while public safety was “of course, our chief concern” it was “also right that our approach should reflect the fact that the vast majority of licensed firearms holders are law abiding and cause no concern”.

Licenced shotgun holder Jake Davison killed his mother Maxine Davison, 51, three-year-old Sophie Martyn, her father, Lee, 43, Stephen Washington, 59, and Kate Shepherd, 66, in the Keyham area of Plymouth on August 12, 2021.

Mr Arrow, following a five-week long inquest, made a series of recommendations in his Prevention of Future Deaths report, including changes to the 1968 Firearms Act which would attempt to tighten up gaps in the law.

However, in response, Mr Philp chose to launch an eight-week public consultation, over the summer holidays, supposedly concluding in late August 2023.

The move was heavily criticised by gun reform advocates Gun Control Network, who said it was “predictable” that the Government would “always prioritise the interests of shooters over public safety”.