Criminals buying guns via legal loophole

Hundreds of weapons are being brought into Britain because legislation regards ammunition as obsolete

A loophole that allows guns to be legally imported and held by criminals in the UK without a licence must be closed, police have warned. Hundreds of the “antique” weapons, which take “obsolete” ammunition that can be made at home, are brought into the country each year thanks to an exemption to firearms legislation. Officers say guns and bullets linked to one dealer alone have been identified at more than 100 crime scenes, including drive-by shootings.

POLICE have urged the Home Office to close a loophole which is allowing hundreds of unlicensed handguns to be brought into Britain legally.

The handguns are being sold to criminals after entering Britain, an investigation has revealed. They are exempt from legislation that requires owners to have a licence because they were produced before 1939 and they are old enough to qualify as antiques and designed for calibres of ammunition now considered obsolete.

Despite this, criminals manufacture their own rounds for the guns, which have been used in six killings and dozens of shootings so far. Some of the components used in making the ammunition can be obtained online or at weapons fairs without a licence.

The Government is now facing calls to amend the law in order to stop such weapons being freely bought and sold.

Currently, only those who have served at least three months in jail are forbidden to own them.

Det Chief Supt Jo Chilton, of the National Ballistics Intelligence Service (NABIS), said: “They’re easy to purchase and they don’t fall under the licensing if they’re possessed as an antique or curio. And we know that offenders are quoting that loophole in the legislation at police officers when they’re stopped and searched.”

NABIS wants some of the antique calibres to be taken off the Home Office’s obsolete list.

The issue has been highlighted by the BBC’S Panorama, which sent a reporter to the United States, where he bought a fully-working .44 calibre revolver and brought it back through customs at Heathrow.

Border Force staff there allowed him to pass with the weapon after realising they were legally powerless to stop him.

The reporter attended an antique weapons fair in Birmingham where he bought an almost identical weapon for cash. Both handguns were Smith and Wesson .44 Russian revolvers, which were produced from 1870-1915.

The bullets for that model were readily available until the first half of the last century but are now more difficult to obtain, although they can be manufactured at home relatively easily. Weapons of the same calibre have recently been used to shoot and kill people

‘We know that offenders are quoting that loophole ... at police officers when they’re stopped and searched’

on UK streets.

Carl Campbell, 33, was shot with a Smith and Wesson .44 Russian, below, in a drive-by attack in West Bromwich in December 2016. His three killers were jailed for a total of nearly 90 years.

Following a police investigation, it became apparent that many antique weapons which went on to be used in crimes were brought into the UK by Paul Edmunds, a registered gun dealer.

He was convicted last December of conspiring to supply arms and jailed for 30 years, but it is estimated that hundreds of his weapons are still in circulation. His guns and ammo were linked to more than 100 crime scenes.

The Home Office is consulting on whether to bring in changes to the law on firearms which could remove certain calibres, such as the one bought by the Panorama reporter, from the list.

A spokesman said: “The Home Office has consulted on proposals that will enshrine in law a new definition of antique firearm, ensuring older weapons that could still pose a danger to the public are licensed. We are considering the responses and plan to introduce regulations later in the year.”

Derek Stimpson of the British Shooting Sports Council, said: “Our concern is that if these are taken off the list the law-abiding collectors don’t have them, we lose part of heritage – once it’s gone it’s gone.”

Panorama: Legal Weapon is on BBC

One at 8.30pm tonight.