§ Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Prime Minister pursuant to his answer of 22 January 2003 to the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban),Official Report, column 299, if he will make a statement on the reasons for the increase in gun crime since 1997; and in which areas there is a culture of gun crime. [94510]
§ The Prime MinisterArmed crime accounts for a very small proportion of overall crime offences. However, the Government are determined to tackle the problem of gun crime. We have therefore announced our intention to bring forward a mandatory minimum sentence of five years for illegal possession of a firearm. New measures to tighten up the law on airguns and replica firearms will be included in the Anti-Social Behaviour Bill. Individual police forces have also introduced targeted initiatives for tackling gun crime, such as operations Trident in London and Ventara in Birmingham.