§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment his Department has made of(a) the most common ways illegally held firearms are obtained and (b) what their origin is; and if he will make a statement. [135809]
§ Mr. Charles Clarke[holding answer 30 October 2000]: The Government believe that there is no single main source of illegal firearms in the United Kingdom. In particular, there is no evidence of organised and large-scale smuggling of firearms into this country. Interviews with criminals indicate that many firearms are obtained through informal contacts where their origins are not established.
The use of firearms in crime in this country is small in relation both to overall national crime figures and to other comparable countries. It may therefore be misleading to talk of any source of illegal firearms to be 'common' or to draw wider conclusions from particular incidents. Sources of illegally held firearms in recent years have included, for example: theft from legitimate sources; smuggling from abroad; conversion of deactivated or replica firearms to fire live ammunition; and 'trophies of war' brought back by returning service personnel. Individual firearms may remain in circulation for many years and their origins may be difficult to establish.
The Government have accepted the recommendations by the Firearms Consultative Committee (FCC) and the 210W Home Affairs Committee (HAC) that further research should be carried out into this area. We are considering how best this should be carried forward.