A police firearms expert tells Channel 4 News the Cumbria shootings should prompt a re-examination of gun laws, and the frequency in which gun certificates are renewed by the police.
Cumbria Police said Derrick Bird held both a shotgun certificate and a firearms certificate, while the Home Secretary Theresa May confirmed today that the killer owned his guns legally.
Although convicted of sheft in the 1990s, Bird was allowed to acquire a shotgun licence in 1995 and had held a firearms licence for a .22 rifle since 2007.
Following the killings shadow home secretary Alan Johnson called for firearms laws to be reviewed, focusing on whether the follow-up checks on licence holders are “adequate”.
He also suggested there could be a greater role for GPs and the NHS in assessing whether a gun owner’s mental health was deteriorating.
Channel 4 News Political Correspondent Cathy Newman has reported that police firearms departments are under increased pressure to check certificates – which once granted, the police check after five years.
Channel 4 News has spoken to Roger Gray, a former firearms officer with the metropolitan police, who says yesterday’s tragic events highlight the need to look at the frequency at which gun certificates are renewed by the police
Home Affairs Correspondent Simon Israel in Cumbria
A senior police source has told Channel 4 News that the licensing of guns to Derrick Bird appears to have followed all the correct procedures.
Cumbrian police would not comment when asked by how much and to what degree police had had contact with the 52-year-old driver before he embarked on Thursday's killing spree.
That issue may well end up being examined by the Independent Police Complaints Commission which to tonight said it was keeping in touch with the force over the coming days.
Under current laws, certificate renewals are due every five years. The check-up was previously set at three years but was changed by the Conservative government in 1995.
The massacre in Cumbria has bought the laws surrounding guns in the UK into sharp focus, with Prime Minister David Cameron vowing today to do everything possible to prevent a repeat of the killings.
Killings on this scale are very uncommon in the Britain but when they do happen, as in Hungerford in 1987 and in Dunblane in 1997, the legislation is looked at in detail.
As a result of such tragedies, Britain is viewed as having some of the toughest, most restrictive gun laws in the world.
Roger Gray believes that despite recent events, the gun laws in this country are essentially sound and should not be amended as a knee-jerk reaction.
He told Channel 4 News: “The only way you could have attempted to prevent what happened yesterday would be to outlaw guns entirely and that is not going to happen.
“As a result as tragedies such as Hungerford and Dunblane, Britain is viewed as having some of the toughest, most restrictive gun laws in the world.”
“A person like Derrick Bird was hell-bent on murder and would have found a way to kill regardless.”
There were 713,674 firearm and shotgun licences issued in England and Wales last year and all are covered by the 1968 firearms act (as amended).
Mr Gray said: “With technology it’s easier to keep tabs on who holds valid certificates for guns than it were 15 years ago.
“I think yesterday’s events highlight the need to look again at how often the police check on those people who hold gun licences. It may be an unpopular move with certain sections of society but if it helps prevent events like yesterday it will be well worth it.”
A firearm is defined as rifles, muzzle-loading revolvers and shotguns with magazines that are capable of holding more than two cartridges.
A shotgun is defined as these can include pump-action and self-loading weapons that have a magazine that is incapable of holding more than two cartridges, but excluding large magazine smooth bore guns.
It is estimated that for every person who owns a weapon legally, one person owns one illegally. And this does not take into account replica guns which have been converted into weapons.
Guns factbox
- 138,728 firearm certificates issued 08/09, 8% increase compared to 07/08
- 574,946 shotgun certificates issued 08/09. 5% increase compared to 07/08
- A firearm or shotgun certificate is £50 and the renewal is £40
How can you own a gun legally in the UK?
All persons acquiring or in possession of a firearm or shotgun must have a certificate issued by the Chief Police Officer in their area every five years.
The chief police officer must be satisfied that an applicant has good reason for wanting a weapon, is fit to be entrusted with it, and that the public safety or the peace will not be endangered.
Weapons and ammunition must be held in a secure place when not in use. Certificates can be revoked if the Chief Police Officer is satisfied that the holder can no longer be entrusted with firearms.
Anyone sentenced for a crime of three years or more is banned from possessing firearms for life. Those sentenced to three months or more but less than three years are subject to a five-year prohibition from the date of their release.