Police to investigate gun licence held by attacker

GUN laws in the UK are some of the strictest in the world, with licences needed to carry approved firearms.

Police have confirmed Plymouth gunman Jake Davison was a licensed firearms holder, but it is not yet known whether that gun was used in the Keyham shootings.

Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer of Devon and Cornwall Police said there will be an investigation into how the licence was granted to Davison as well as an independent review into how the police force tackled the events of Thursday evening.

He added: “As part of an investigation in this or of any shooting we will look where a licence holder was licensed by Devon and Cornwall Police – that will be an independent review and we’re making contact.

“Whether the independent official police complaints wish to do that or whether it’s conducted by another force, we will confirm that later.”

Regulated mainly by the Firearms Act 1968, a firearms certificate issued by the police is needed to possess, buy or acquire a firearm or shotgun. Certificates are also needed in order to buy ammunition.

According to the Home Office, as of March 31 in England and Wales 565,929 people held a firearm and/or a shotgun certificate, a 3% decrease of 20,422 since last year.

The level of gun crime in the UK is one of the lowest in the world, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has said.

It says that pistols, revolvers and shotguns are the firearms most frequently used illegally in the UK and while fully-automatic weapon seizures are “very rare”, a “gradual increase” has been seen.

The majority of shootings are carried out by criminal street gangs involved in robberies and drugs rings, with victims of gun crime generally known to police, the NCA has said. A total of 30 homicide victims in England and Wales in the year to March 2020 were killed by shooting, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.