§ Mr. RobathanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what information he has about the origins of firearms and shotguns used in the pursuit of crime;
(2) what proportion of firearms and shotguns used by criminals in criminal activity are believed to have been licensed, purchased legally and in the possession of an authorised person.
§ Mr. Charles WardleNo statistical information is available. Firearms are only rarely recovered from scenes of crime and, in cases where they are, identifying marks have, almost invariably, been erased. Tracing the firearms back to their source is therefore extremely difficult. There is, however, no evidence to suggest any widespread use of legally held firearms by criminals in crime.