Bedfordshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner John Tizard has called for urgent action to reform gun laws following the Channel 4 broadcast of 24 Hours in Police Custody covering the last year’s triple murder in Luton and foiled school shooting plot.
The two-part documentary has reignited debate over how firearms are bought and traded privately in the UK, after it revealed how the son of Juliana Falcon and brother to Giselle Prosper and Kyle Prosper was able to obtain a weapon legally before committing his crimes against his family.
Mr Tizard praised the officers who responded to the incident and captured the perpetrator, saying their actions saved lives.
“The bravery and professionalism of police officers and their action shown in the latest episode of 24 Hours in Police Custody was commendable. The swift arrest of the perpetrator saved lives. We owe every officer and member of staff on this case a massive ‘thank you’,” the PCC said.
But he admitted that the tragedy “starkly reminds us of the reality of the current legal shortcomings and law relating to the private sale and exchange of firearms.”
Mr Tizard, who wrote to then Home Secretary Yvette Cooper after the killer’s sentencing, urged ministers to modernise legislation and strengthen police powers to prevent weapons being transferred to dangerous individuals.
He said: “I called for the police to have the duty and powers to pre-authorise and control the private transfer of firearms before they fell into the hands of those who shouldn’t have them. And for a national firearms database.”
Mr Tizard said the Minister replied that the government was “urgently looking into revising the legislation”, but that no action has yet been taken.
He added that he has since written to new Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, who has pledged to launch a consultation soon.
“I am confident the government will act but there is a real urgency so that tragic events we saw unfold in Luton can never happen again,” Mr Tizard said.
The Home Office has not yet set out a timetable for the consultation.
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