NGO Wants Independent Firearms Licensing

30 August 2010

The National Gamekeepers' Organisation (NGO) has called for an independent licensing authority to handle the issuing and renewal of Firearms and Shotgun Certificates in the wake of the Cumbrian shootings earlier this year.

Responding to a Home Affairs Select Commmittee Inquiry into firearms legislation, the NGO has said that current laws are largely satisfactory but that administration of them by the police is very variable and at worst 'woeful'.

The NGO says that whilst some police forces do a good job on licensing, others are very inefficient whilst a few seem determined to use the process to reduce the number of legally held firearms. In fact nearly all gun crime is committed with illegally held weapons.

The gamekeepers' organisation argues that an independent licensing authority could focus better on the job and would bring consistent standards of interpretation and administration throughout the country.

The full NGO response to the Home Affairs Select Committee can be read by following this link.