THERE IS NO HOME OFFICE INTENTION TO BAN NEW SPECIFICATION DEACTIVATED FIREARMS!

"Home Secretary to ban deactivated Firearms", the Headline used in the Home Office Press Release and picked-up by all members of the media - IS NOT CORRECT.

The Home Office issued a Press Release this morning to 'clarify' the "Home Secretary to ban deactivated firearms". Below are excerpts from this Release. The full Press Release can be found by going on the Home Office website and typing 'deactivated weapons' into the Search box.

"Strict new controls on firearms that have been deactivated could be introduced before the end of the year,"

The police estimate some 120,000 of these deactivated firearms are in circulation. Although many are owned by genuine responsible collectors, the police have raised concerns that many are being used in crime. These figures relate almost entirely to weapons deactivated before 1995 when tough new standards were introduced for the deactivation of live weapons so they are far harder to reactivate.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said:

"Gun crime though thankfully rare is a problem in some areas of the country. I want to balance protecting the public with the rights of responsible collectors of deactivated firearms. I will shortly consult on a way forward to allow genuine curators to collect legitimate firearms while giving the police and other enforcement agencies the powers they need to get black market firearms off our streets.

Tackling gun crime is key to making people feel safer and more secure in their communities. We already have the tightest controls in Europe but there is more we can do to remove the threat of gun crime.

Before 1995 the standards for deactivating guns were less stringent than those which currently apply. The police tell me these pre-1995 weapons are turning up more and more in gun related crime and I want to address these concerns to effectively eliminate the threat from our streets.

The Home Office will shortly consult on proposals to clamp down on the availability to criminals of firearms deactivated prior to 1995. We will be looking at the implications for responsible collectors including museums before legislating".

You will note from this, although the word 'Ban' is used on the Headline the Home Secretary's main focus of her concerns are on pre-1995 'old spec' deactivated weapons for which "there will be exemptions for responsible collectors", which I understand may involve an application for a Collector's Licence.

There is no question of a total ban of all deac's and you will note in the Home Secretary's Statement that the UK "has tough new standards after 1995" and "we have the tightest gun controls in Europe"!