§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government: How many firearms have been seized by Customs and Excise entering or leaving the United Kingdom in the current year and each of the previous four years; and whether such firearms have been destroyed. [HL4843]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (Lord McIntosh of Haringey):HM Customs & Excise pass seized firearms to the police for destruction, with the exception of those donated to the Armed Forces or to museums or similar educational and scientific institutions.
The table below sets out the number of firearms seized by Customs since 1998–99. Figures include all complete prohibited weapons falling within the definition of a firearm in Section 57 of the Firearms Act 1968, but exclude weapons prohibited by virtue of Section 5(1)(b) of that Act.
Number of illegal firearms seized by HM Customs and Excise Year Imports Exports 1998–1999 240 6 1999–2000 641 14 2000– 2001 255 13 2001–2002 634 14 2002–2003 264 6