§ Mr. Eldon Griffithsasked the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 7 December, Official Report c. 312, to the hon. Member for Bury St. Edmunds on the subject of surplus small arms, which measures provided for under the Firearms Act 1968 he applied when sanctioning recent sales of surplus Browning 09 mm automatic pistols.
§ Mr. PattieUnder the Firearms Act 1968, sales in the United Kingdom may be made only to registered firearms dealers or to the holders of firearms certificates granted by the police. In making this sale, the Ministry confirmed that the company concerned was properly registered as a firearms dealer. The company itself could, of course, sell the guns in the United Kingdom only to other registered dealers or to holders of firearms certificates granted by the police. Moreover, firearms dealers must maintain a register of transactions, which is subject to verification by the police authorities.