§ Mr. Teddy TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made by the Council of Home Office Ministers on the proposed mutual recognition of firearms licences; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Peter LloydI assume that my hon. Friend is referring to the European Commission's proposals for a Council directive on the control of the acquisition and possession of weapons. The Commission has now put forward a revised draft of the directive but no discussions have yet taken place within the Council on the revised draft. We are however currently considering the amended proposals very carefully. The indications are however that, as drafted, the revised directive is unlikely to be acceptable to us as it fails to provide those safeguards necessary to preserve security and maintain law and order.