POSSESSION OF FIREARMS BY PERSONS CONVICTED OF CRIME IN NORTHERN IRELAND (Hansard, 25 May 1972)

§ The Minister of State, Home Office (Mr. Mark Carlisle)
I beg to move. That the Clause be read a Second time.

§ Mr. Deputy Speaker (Mr. E. L. Mallalieu)
It will be convenient to discuss also Amendment No. 36, in Clause 56, page 35, line 41, leave out 'to 24 and' and insert: '23, 24, (Possession of firearms by persons convicted of crime in Northern Ireland), 25'.

§ Mr. Carlisle
The new Clause meets an undertaking I gave to the hon. and learned Member for Dulwich (Mr. S. C. Silkin) during the Committee stage. Section 21 of the Firearms Act, 1968, prohibits from possession of firearms certain categories of persons who previously have served sentences of imprisonment. At the moment the section applies only to those who have been sentenced in England, Wales and Scotland, and the purpose of the new Clause is to make 1713 those who are subject to similar prohibitions in Northern Ireland subject also to the same prohibitions in England, Wales and Scotland.
In Committee the hon. and learned Gentleman raised the question that it should apply to anyone convicted in any other part of the world, and an undertaking was given at that time we would amend the forms of application for firearm certificates to require information about convictions anywhere in the world, so that a chief constable would be able to give due weight to such convictions in deciding whether or not to issue a licence.
I said that we would consider the question of Northern Ireland sentences with a view to legislation, and that we have done. I understand that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has decided that the converse situation should be dealt with so as to extend to Northern Ireland the effect of a prohibition derived from a sentence in court in Great Britain, and this change will be implemented shortly.

§ Sir Elwyn Jones (West Ham, South)
We on this side of the Committee are grateful that the Government have adopted the proposal by my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Dulwich (Mr. S. C. Silkin) in Committee to fill a gap which he discovered in the legislation of England and Wales and of Northern Ireland, and to make sure that those who have been sentenced to substantial terms of imprisonment in England, Wales or Northern Ireland should be subject to strict and severe embargo on the possession of firearms.
This is at least as important as heavy penalties for the criminal use of firearms, and I have often felt that if we could make it more difficult for criminals to get possession of and carry firearms, whether here or in Northern Ireland, there would be far less crime involving the use of firearms.
I am glad, therefore, that it fell to this side of the Committee to draw attention to this matter. Without being in any way provocative, it is right that I should say that concern for law and order is not the monopoly of the Tory Party, in spite of some Selsdon Conference observations apparently to the contrary. But I can assure the Home Secretary that we will co-operate in any effective and sensible 1714 measures to resist the growth of violence in our society.
I thought I would get that in at the beginning because we shall be moving on to the need also for compassion and civilised treatment for those in custody in the later stages of our debates.