Labour could tighten shotgun ownership rules

Sir Keir Starmer’s government is considering tightening controls around shotgun ownership, in a move likely to further fray Labour’s relationship with farmers. Following a series of murders involving such weapons, the Home Office has announced a new consultation into shotgun licensing — citing concerns over the current rules raised by victims, police, coroners and MPs. Pointing to concerns around shotgun owners keeping the weapons in their homes, including in towns and cities, the Home Office has also announced imminent plans to increase the number of referees required to obtain a shotgun licence — from just one to two — and to refresh police guidance, including around domestic abuse.

But some farmers have expressed fears over what they called “draconian and unreasonable” proposals, which they claimed would be viewed as “part of a wider anti-rural agenda”. The government is already on a collision course with farmers as a result of controversial changes to inheritance tax on agricultural property, with protesting farmers using tractors to disrupt a public outing by Sir Keir on Thursday. But while the Countryside Alliance claimed the fresh row would create “a whole new political challenge in the relationship between Labour and the countryside”, the government insisted that it is right to keep gun legislation under constant review.

Following the mass shooting in Plymouth in 2021, in which Jake Davison murdered five people with a pump-action shotgun, a senior coroner warned ministers that “root and branch reform” of Britain’s gun laws was urgently needed to protect the public. But although that warning prompted Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government to order a consultation on gun laws in 2023, those ministers opted not to explore the coroner’s recommendation to align shotgun and firearms legislation. Following that decision, Keyham MP Luke Pollard, now a Labour minister, had urged Mr Sunak to “stand with grieving families” in his constituency and not “bow down to lobbyists from the shooting industry”. In a new response to those findings, the Home Office noted on Thursday that the previous decision to ignore this recommendation was made “on the basis that shotguns were already subject to significant controls and have important uses in farming and in leisure pursuits”.

But it added: “We have noted, however, that a number of respondents to the consultation expressed disappointment that it did not include the issue of closer alignment of the controls on shotguns and other firearms. “This included some law enforcement respondents, who considered that further controls on shotguns would increase public safety, and others including people who had been affected by shotgun shooting incidents. Some of these respondents pointed to the risks associated with shotguns being kept in certificate holders’ own homes, including in towns and cities.”

The government now “takes the view that shotguns are no less lethal than other firearms” and that it is right to “consider greater alignment of the controls”, the Home Office said, adding that its consultation will be published later this year. But Tim Bonner, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance campaign group, said: “The government is coming for shotguns. Even though I predicted it I can’t quite believe Labour is already picking another fight with the countryside.” He warned that a move to licence shotguns similarly to other firearms would mean that each gun would have to be licensed separately, while the purchase of ammunition would be limited, as well as potential restrictions around storage.

“On top of the big hike in license fees the government has already announced this is clearly a policy designed to reduce gun ownership by making it restrictive, expensive and bureaucratic,” Mr Bonner said. He added: “Legitimate gun owners are committed to robust licensing and we have consistently worked with government on issues like medical checks and mental health to improve the system. These new proposals, however, are draconian and unreasonable. “They also create a whole new political challenge in the relationship between Labour and the countryside. However much ministers deny it a lot of people will see this as part of a wider anti-rural agenda.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “Protecting the public is our priority and it is right that we keep legislation on firearms under constant review and make changes whenever necessary. “We know that the delays within the firearms system can be burdensome for farming communities and the recent increase in fees will be used directly to make improvements for its users.”