Gun tragedy twin calls for tougher laws
THE twin sister of a woman killed in similar circumstances to the Epsom College shootings has called for faster reform of gun laws.
College head Emma Pattison, 45, was killed along with her sevenyear-old daughter Lettie and husband George, 39.
It is believed that George killed the pair before taking his own life at their home in the grounds of the Surrey school a week ago.
Campaigner Emma Ambler says that tragedy is an example of why firearm reforms cannot be delayed.
Her twin, Kelly Fitzgibbons, then 40, was shot dead along with daughters Ava and Lexi, aged four and two, by their father Robert Needham.
He then took his own life with a legally owned gun inwoodmancote, West Sussex, in March 2020.
Emma said the case should have sparked reform. “If we keep waiting, families will lose their lives and, very tragically, that is what happened in Surrey.
“Now is the time to acknowledge the failings of the police and the Government, and make changes.”
After her sister’s death, Emma, 43, set up the Kelly Fitzgibbons Foundation in her memory, calling for changes to the firearms application process.
The inquest into the shooting found Needham had been awarded a gun licence despite Sussex Police discovering he had lied on his application form about periods of depression and a police caution he received as a youth. Ms Ambler
believes that if he had been refused a licence, her sister and nieces would still be alive.
She had been due to meet Home Office officials but the meeting was pushed back until “later in spring”.
She said: “A number of these changes we want are easy and could be made immediately.
“They are to not grant gun licences to people who are found to be lying as part of the application process and don’t give licences to people with mental health issues or re-occurring depression.”
She also said reviews of licence holders should be held annually.
A Home Office spokesman said a meeting date would be finalised “in due course” and added that the UK “has some of the strictest gun controls in the world, which we keep under constant review”.