Ministers have refused to support stricter controls on shotguns in the wake of the tragic mass shooting. Home Office minister Chris Philp announced he would initiate a fresh consultation on firearms licensing following the tragic events in Keyham, Plymouth in 2021. However, the Government stopped short of accepting a coroner's recommendations for gun law reform.
In a span of just eight minutes, 22-year-old Jake Davison killed his mother, Maxine, 51, and then proceeded to shoot three-year-old Sophie Martyn, her father Lee, 43, Stephen Washington, 59, and Kate Shepherd, 66. Davison ultimately turned the weapon on himself when confronted by an unarmed police officer on August 12, 2021. Senior coroner for Plymouth and South Devon, Ian Arrow, argued that the 50-year-old Firearms Act was incompatible with public safety and the principle that owning a gun is a privilege, not a right.
Mr. Arrow submitted a series of reports to the Government and police organizations, calling for an end to the legislative distinction between Section 1 firearms, such as rifles, and shotguns. He also expressed concerns about the Home Office's guidance to police forces regarding the Firearms Act legislation, the training provided to police staff assessing license applications, and the training given to judges hearing license appeals.
In a written statement, Mr. Philp said the Government had decided not to implement the recommendations to align shotgun and firearms legislation - but said a public consultation into firearms licensing would be launched on Thursday.
He added: “Shotguns are already subject to significant controls, and they are important in helping farmers control vermin on their land, as well as being used in a variety of rural pursuits.
“We will keep this under review, but we are currently of the view that additional controls on shotguns are unnecessary and would have a negative impact on their legitimate use.”
This consultation would incorporate recommendations from Mr. Arrow, as well as findings from a report by the Independent Office for Police Conduct and the Scottish Affairs Committee report following the fatal shooting of John MacKinnon on the Isle of Skye in August 2022.
Mr. Philp assured that the Government would continue to review the situation and move forward “straight away” on new training for police firearms licensing teams.
The minister said: “The Government has agreed to provide £500,000 in funding to support the development and rollout of a new national training package produced by the College of Policing and the National Police Chiefs Council.
“In due course, this training will become mandatory for police firearms licensing teams.”
Davison legally held a shotgun certificate and weapon having been obsessed with firearms from a young age due to a trait in autism of developing a “special interest”.
As part of the application process, Davison had declared his autism and Asperger’s, but when police sought relevant information from his GP, the doctor declined to provide any as it was not mandatory.
The police granted the application in January 2018 to last five years.
His weapon and certificate were seized in September 2020 after Davison was captured on CCTV punching a 16-year-old boy up to nine times in a skate park, but were handed back to him just five weeks before the killings.
Luke Pollard, the Labour MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, said he was disappointed the Government did not come to the House of Commons to lay out its response to the coroner.
He told MPs: “We were promised an oral statement and a chance for Members of Parliament to scrutinise the Government’s response, but that response has been downgraded to a written ministerial statement, which means Members of Parliament, including local MPs like me, can’t ask questions on behalf of the families that are grieving and want to avert a tragedy again.”
In a question to Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt, he asked: “Can the Leader advise me about when would be the opportunities to bring the Home Office ministers to this place to ask them why they rejected so many of the coroner’s recommendations that would have made gun laws better and safer for all our communities, so a tragedy like we saw in Plymouth can never be repeated again?”
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