Several gun licenses revoked in London

99 rifle certificates were revoked by the Met Police in the year to March – up from 70 the year before, reports Andrew Dowdeswell, Data Reporter

More shotgun licenses were revoked in London last year, new figures show.

It comes as more certificates for firearms and rifle users in England and Wales were scrapped last year, which campaign group Action on Armed Violence said “can only be a good thing”.

The Gun Control Network has called on the government to “dramatically increase” license fees so police can carry out more thorough checks.

Home Office figures show 99 rifle certificates were revoked by the Met Police in the year to March – up from 70 the previous year.

The figures also show 20 firearms licenses were revoked in the same period – in line with 2022-23.

The police can revoke anyone’s firearms license if they think they can’t be trusted, are a danger to the public or no longer have a good reason to hold it.

Nationally, 1,559 shotgun certificates were revoked in England and Wales – a 34% increase on 2022-23 and the highest figure since comparable records began in 2008-09.

Meanwhile, firearms recalls also hit record levels, rising 21 percent to 507.

Dr Iain Overton, chief executive of Action on Armed Violence, said gun control had repeatedly reduced the number of deaths globally.

He added: “The recent revocation of these rifles and other licenses may have complex and individual reasons, such as concern for suicidal intent among economically distressed farmers, but in doing so they further reduce the likelihood that the weapons will be used to kill or self-kill. damage. This can only be good.”

A spokesman for the Gun Control Network said there had been six shootings in Britain in which three or more people died in the past 14 years, five of which were committed by licensed gun owners.

They added: “Clearly our firearms licensing process is broken and many bereaved and traumatized families are suffering the consequences.

“License fees need to rise dramatically so that the police have more funds to carry out more thorough checks.”

The data also shows that at the end of March there were 21,179 rifle and 3,906 firearm certificates active in London, equivalent to 507 and 196 per 100,000 people respectively.

The British Shooting and Conservation Association said the police were “increasingly depriving perfectly safe people of their certificates and leaving it to the courts to make the final decision”.

Firearms director Bill Harriman has questioned the consistency of police licensing in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, adding that the barriers to a “safe and responsible person” getting involved “are becoming more and more unsurpassed”.

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