Firearms

Speech delivered on Thu 17th Jan 2008

I agree with the minister that there is increasing public concern about gun crime. In 2006-07, the Scottish police recorded 1,245 offences in which it was alleged that a firearm had been used-an increase of 17 per cent on the total of 1,068 such crimes recorded in 2005-06 and the highest number in the past 10 years. Of the total number of firearms offences in 2006-07, 54 per cent, or 675, involved an air weapon, compared to 58 per cent, or 618, in 2005-06. As we all know, firearms legislation is reserved to the UK Government. The Scottish Liberal Democrats have difficulty in accepting that there would not be considerable problems in having separate firearms regulations and penalties in England and Scotland. We share the United Kingdom Government's view that a total ban on some weapons would be unworkable and impractical.

In recent times, there have been a number of improvements in legislation to address gun crime, particularly air-guns. Westminster's Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003, which came into effect in January 2004, brought in new provisions to help protect the public from misuse of air-guns, including the raising of the minimum age for ownership from 14 years to 17 years, the creation of a new offence of possessing an air-gun or imitation weapon in a public place without reasonable excuse, and the banning of the future import, manufacture, sale or transfer of air weapons that use self-contained gas cartridges.

Fergus Ewing: Mike Pringle argues that legislation in Scotland that did not exist throughout the UK would be unenforceable. We would prefer UK-wide legislation, but if that is not possible and we have legislation requiring the licensing of air-guns in Scotland, surely it would be perfectly easy to enforce it, just as the separate legislation on knives is enforceable?

Mike Pringle: That is probably right, but I will come on to the considerable number of measures that have been introduced recently-we should give them time to bed in. If there is a summit between the Governments in Scotland and Westminster, I would welcome anything that is done to improve this aspect of the law.

The Liberal Democrats supported the new provisions. As Pauline McNeill said, the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 tightened the law on indiscriminate and reckless firing of air-guns from private property. It also brought in a further increase in the minimum age of ownership of air-guns from 17 years to 18 years, along with tougher restrictions on manufacture and ownership of imitation firearms.

That was followed by the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 (Realistic Imitation Firearms) Regulations 2007. The regulations were implemented only in October 2007, so surely time is required to establish whether they will be effective. The legislation did a number of things: it introduced a ban on the supply of realistic imitation firearms; it made it an offence to manufacture, import or sell realistic imitation firearms; and, under HM Revenue and Customs controls, made liable to forfeiture imported imitation firearms. It is now also an offence for a person under the age of 18 to purchase an imitation firearm, and to sell an imitation firearm to a person under the age of 18. I therefore suggest that much has been done and is being done to regulate firearms.

I am pleased that the motion recognises that there are legitimate reasons for owning a gun for all sorts of sporting activities, for control of vermin and for other reasons. All firearms in the United Kingdom must be licensed with either a firearms certificate or a shotgun certificate. It is not easy to obtain a firearms certificate, as several of my friends who live in Edinburgh know-they are constantly badgered by the police to ensure that their firearms certificates are up to date. The police must be convinced that the applicant is a person of sound reason and good standing, and that they can be trusted to own a gun without danger to public safety or to the peace. Under Home Office guidelines, a gun licence is issued only if a person has legitimate sporting or work-related reasons for owning a gun. The penalties are quite harsh. Possession of a prohibited firearm without a certificate carries a mandatory five-year prison sentence and the fine is uncapped.

I agree with Bill Aitken that we should do more to ensure that guns do not come into this country, but guns can, of course, flow freely around the UK. A gun that is used in a crime in Edinburgh might next be used in Manchester or London, or vice versa. The evidence is that guns that are used in crimes are seldom recovered. We need to be more concerned about-as I said-controlling illegal guns by preventing their getting into the UK in the first place-the Westminster Government is the Government to do that. My colleague at Westminster, Chris Huhne, is exercised by the issue and has suggested-as Bill Aitken did-that we should have a border police force that would exercises more control over the import of illegal weapons and guns into the UK.

The Liberal Democrats will support the Labour amendment.

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-08/sor0117-02.htm#Col5226