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Debate on Monday, 20 December 2010, in the House of Commons, led by Lord Herbert of South Downs. The answering member was Diana Johnson.

Firearms Control

Debate on a motion that this House has considered the matter of firearms control. (Relevant document: Home Affairs Select Committee third report of session 2010-11, on Firearms Control, HC 447.)

Secondary information

Type
Parliamentary proceeding
Reference
520 c1234-82 
Session
2010-12
Department
Home Office
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Related items
Proceeding contributions
Brandon Lewis | 520 c1238 (Link to this contribution) Does my right hon. Friend agree that it is important to take the time to review all the reports, inc...
Tobias Ellwood | 520 c1236 (Link to this contribution) My right hon. Friend raises an important aspect of the debate in mentioning the difference between w...
Show all contributions (110)
Tony Cunningham | 520 c1241 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend rightly pays tribute to the emergency services, but will she also pay tribute to the ...
Chris Williamson | 520 c1264 (Link to this contribution) I think the hon. Gentleman is conflating two issues. Young people involved in gang culture already s...
Tobias Ellwood | 520 c1267-8 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend makes my point, which is why it is important to debate such matters thoroughly before...
Speaker | 520 c1270 (Link to this contribution) Order. Two Members cannot be on their feet at the same time. Is the hon. Member for Carmarthen West ...
Tobias Ellwood | 520 c1278 (Link to this contribution) It has been made clear that we cannot legislate against another attack. Sadly, there is likely to be...
Clive Efford | 520 c1277 (Link to this contribution) I could not agree more. The wider public—in particular, those communities directly affected by such ...
Keith Vaz | 520 c1277 (Link to this contribution) First, may I congratulate my hon. Friend on his long-overdue elevation to the Front Bench? Some of u...
Clive Efford | 520 c1275-7 (Link to this contribution) Like everyone who has taken part in the debate, I want to express my sympathies for those who were i...
Lord Hart of Tenby | 520 c1274 (Link to this contribution) If there was a situation in which my hon. Friend was required to make such observations and somehow ...
Dan Poulter | 520 c1273-4 (Link to this contribution) It is a great pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for South Derbyshire (Heather Wheeler), w...
Chris Williamson | 520 c1270 (Link to this contribution) Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, and I thank the hon. Member for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshi...
Lord Hart of Tenby | 520 c1270-2 (Link to this contribution) I apologise for the earlier exchange, Mr. Deputy Speaker. My answer to the hon. Gentleman's questio...
Tobias Ellwood | 520 c1238-9 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for his generosity in giving way. The debate is entitled ““Fi...
Lord Herbert of South Downs | 520 c1238 (Link to this contribution) Again, I accept my hon. Friend's counsel. We intend to strike a proper and proportionate balance her...
Lord Walney | 520 c1237 (Link to this contribution) The Minister knows that a review by the Select Committee is not the same as a Government review of t...
Lord Herbert of South Downs | 520 c1237 (Link to this contribution) With the greatest respect to the hon. Gentleman, we have said that we will take on board the Select ...
Lord Herbert of South Downs | 520 c1237 (Link to this contribution) I certainly agree that it is necessary to review the gun laws, as the Home Affairs Committee has don...
Jamie Reed | 520 c1238 (Link to this contribution) Can we please now dispense with the notion of a knee-jerk response? It is six months since the event...
Lord Herbert of South Downs | 520 c1238 (Link to this contribution) I am sure that the hon. Gentleman agrees, however, that it is fair for the Government to look at the...
Michael Ellis | 520 c1237 (Link to this contribution) A resident of Northampton to whom I am particularly devoted is my aunt, Diana Ellis, and she has alw...
Lord Herbert of South Downs | 520 c1237 (Link to this contribution) Yes, I will reassure my hon. Friend of that. We will carefully consider the recommendations put forw...
Lord Herbert of South Downs | 520 c1241 (Link to this contribution) I agree. It is important for GPs, who will be in the best position to raise concerns, to use the sys...
Diana Johnson | 520 c1241 (Link to this contribution) May I begin by echoing the Minister's comments about the victims and their families who were caught ...
Lord Herbert of South Downs | 520 c1239 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend has illustrated the importance of striking the right balance. We all understand why t...
Lord Herbert of South Downs | 520 c1239 (Link to this contribution) Of course I give way to the Chairman of the Select Committee.
Keith Vaz | 520 c1239-40 (Link to this contribution) We published our report only 18 hours ago, so I do not expect the Minister to respond to each and ev...
Lord Herbert of South Downs | 520 c1240 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary tells me that he is going to say ““two months”” in his winding-up...
Mike Weatherley | 520 c1240 (Link to this contribution) Will the Minister also consider instances where sentencing may have been too lenient? I understand t...
Lord Herbert of South Downs | 520 c1240 (Link to this contribution) I think that I am right in saying that such sentences have been toughened considerably in recent yea...
Lord Beith | 520 c1240-1 (Link to this contribution) Is the Minister satisfied that the arrangements that have been discussed with the BMA will extend to...
Lord Herbert of South Downs | 520 c1235-6 (Link to this contribution) I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving me the opportunity to do that. One of the things that was impr...
Lord Herbert of South Downs | 520 c1236-7 (Link to this contribution) Of course we will consider all the recommendations in the Select Committee report carefully. We are ...
Jamie Reed | 520 c1237 (Link to this contribution) Between 1997 and 2008-09, 742 people were murdered with firearms in this country. Given that it was ...
Lord Herbert of South Downs | 520 c1234-5 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman knows that we were committed to holding this debate. We particularly wanted to ho...
Lord Beith | 520 c1235 (Link to this contribution) Does my right hon. Friend recognise that although plenty of people in Rothbury—where people were in ...
Lord Herbert of South Downs | 520 c1235 (Link to this contribution) I agree with my right hon. Friend's sentiments. It appears that the weapons used by Raoul Moat were ...
Tony Cunningham | 520 c1235 (Link to this contribution) The Minister has quite rightly paid tribute to the police. Will he also join me in paying tribute to...
Lord Herbert of South Downs | 520 c1234 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move,"That this House has considered the matter of firearms control." I believe that I spe...
Jamie Reed | 520 c1234 (Link to this contribution) Given that the Home Affairs Committee report was published only this morning, given that we are on a...
Keith Vaz | 520 c1254 (Link to this contribution) I was trying to hedge a little because we have our personal views based on our interest in the subje...
Tobias Ellwood | 520 c1254 (Link to this contribution) The right hon. Gentleman's report raises a number of issues, and this one is worth looking into in m...
Tom Brake | 520 c1254 (Link to this contribution) I heard the right hon. Gentleman this morning on Radio 4 on this subject. It was not clear from his ...
Keith Vaz | 520 c1255 (Link to this contribution) Yes, we considered that issue in the inquiry, and it is in the report, although I cannot remember th...
Tony Cunningham | 520 c1255 (Link to this contribution) Before my right hon. Friend concludes, will he comment on the Committee's report concerning the medi...
Keith Vaz | 520 c1254-5 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is right. That is why we batted the issue over to the Government for them to look...
Chris Williamson | 520 c1258-61 (Link to this contribution) Every year, deaths from gunshot wounds are an all-too-common occurrence in our country, as a result ...
Tom Brake | 520 c1256-8 (Link to this contribution) I welcome the opportunity for this debate today. I suspect that whatever day the Government had chos...
Keith Vaz | 520 c1255-6 (Link to this contribution) Professor Ashton, I thank my hon. Friend. Professor Ashton said that the constant media coverage mig...
Keith Vaz | 520 c1261 (Link to this contribution) I, too, was concerned about this when I began the inquiry. My hon. Friend has spoken very passionate...
Chris Williamson | 520 c1261 (Link to this contribution) My own view is that I would ban guns, and there would not be shooting ranges because people would no...
Matthew Offord | 520 c1261 (Link to this contribution) Is the hon. Gentleman saying that he wants images of weapons to be banned, for example in rap music,...
Chris Williamson | 520 c1261 (Link to this contribution) I agree that the violent images that we see on our screens and the references to weapons in rap musi...
Chris Williamson | 520 c1261 (Link to this contribution) I am not sure that I accept the hon. Gentleman's analysis. I certainly do not accept the point with ...
Lord Hart of Tenby | 520 c1261 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Gentleman accept that in the absence of a total ban, there is evidence to suggest that...
Chris Williamson | 520 c1262 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend makes a pertinent point. I hope that the Localism Bill, which was published last week...
Alan Campbell | 520 c1261-2 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is making a powerful, brave and challenging speech, which is important in this debate...
Chris Williamson | 520 c1263 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Gentleman agree, though, that at the age of 14, an individual is a child and not fully...
Tobias Ellwood | 520 c1262-3 (Link to this contribution) It is a pleasure and an honour to participate in this important debate and to follow the hon. Member...
Tony Cunningham | 520 c1246 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend will be very much aware that Cumbria police authority will be announcing strict and d...
Diana Johnson | 520 c1245-6 (Link to this contribution) I hope that the Government will consider that very point when they consider the Committee's recommen...
Tobias Ellwood | 520 c1244-5 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Lady raises an interesting point about the age at which people should be exposed or given a...
Diana Johnson | 520 c1244 (Link to this contribution) Clearly, the decision about whether a certificate should be issued rests finally with the police. Th...
Matthew Offord | 520 c1244 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Lady agree with the following comments by Dr John Canning, who is a general practition...
Diana Johnson | 520 c1243-4 (Link to this contribution) Those points were aired at the Select Committee. I know the BMA has taken a certain view, and it has...
Lord Hart of Tenby | 520 c1243 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Lady not agree that what she has just said might put off a legitimate holder of a cert...
Diana Johnson | 520 c1241-3 (Link to this contribution) I am very happy to pay tribute to the Churches, and I also know that my hon. Friend spent a great de...
Diana Johnson | 520 c1246-7 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend makes a very important point. Shooting organisations have already expressed concern a...
Baroness Coffey | 520 c1247-9 (Link to this contribution) The events earlier this year in which two gunmen took the lives of 13 other people using shotguns we...
Dan Poulter | 520 c1249 (Link to this contribution) I am sure that my hon. Friend is aware that Suffolk has the lowest recorded level of gun crime in th...
Keith Vaz | 520 c1251-2 (Link to this contribution) It is a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Suffolk Coastal (Dr Coffey). I am afraid that I...
Baroness Coffey | 520 c1251 (Link to this contribution) I support that view. Two of the schools that I attended had cadet forces and it was seen as a privil...
Keith Vaz | 520 c1252-4 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is absolutely right to do so. In an emergency of this kind, many people are involved ...
Tony Cunningham | 520 c1252 (Link to this contribution) I should like to pay tribute to all the emergency services, but specifically to the health workers w...
Lord Hart of Tenby | 520 c1250 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend made an interesting point about whether young people should be allowed to access weap...
Baroness Coffey | 520 c1249-50 (Link to this contribution) I could not agree more strongly with my hon. Friend and neighbour. That message is reinforced not on...
Justin Tomlinson | 520 c1251 (Link to this contribution) I met Wiltshire army cadets this week, and they made big play of the fact that the respect for weapo...
Baroness Coffey | 520 c1250-1 (Link to this contribution) I am not aware of any evidence whatever on that. Across our country, organisations such as gun clubs...
Matthew Offord | 520 c1267 (Link to this contribution) In addition to the number of handguns held illegally, is my hon. Friend aware that between 1997 and ...
Matthew Offord | 520 c1264 (Link to this contribution) Is my hon. Friend aware that the shooting in Finchley that the hon. Member for Derby North (Chris Wi...
Tobias Ellwood | 520 c1264-6 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend makes a valid point. As I said in an intervention, the Home Office does not collect o...
Chris Williamson | 520 c1267 (Link to this contribution) If the hon. Gentleman believes it appropriate to store handguns in a secure armoury, would he agree ...
Tobias Ellwood | 520 c1267 (Link to this contribution) That is exactly how this debate should proceed. I am saying that on this issue, about which I have e...
Tobias Ellwood | 520 c1264 (Link to this contribution) I completely disagree with the hon. Gentleman, and I would encourage him to go out and speak to the ...
Tobias Ellwood | 520 c1264 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend makes a powerful point, and I look forward to his speech, which I hope will elaborate...
Justin Tomlinson | 520 c1264 (Link to this contribution) On youth engagement, surely the best thing to do is to involve sports clubs, the Army Cadet Force an...
Tobias Ellwood | 520 c1263 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman puts his point on the record, but what is the consequence of making weapons illeg...
James Brokenshire | 520 c1280-1 (Link to this contribution) There may be matters relating to landlords and tenants. We must consider carefully the issue of stor...
Tom Brake | 520 c1280 (Link to this contribution) Does the Minister have a ministerial view, or a personal view, on whether it is appropriate for an A...
James Brokenshire | 520 c1279-80 (Link to this contribution) I congratulate the hon. Member for Eltham (Clive Efford) on his promotion to the Front Bench and wis...
Clive Efford | 520 c1278 (Link to this contribution) I agree. The Committee Chairman made that point himself, noting that he and members of the Committee...
Tobias Ellwood | 520 c1281 (Link to this contribution) Only those who have been selected for the squad have been given licences to participate in training ...
James Brokenshire | 520 c1281-2 (Link to this contribution) I know that my hon. Friend feels strongly about sporting development. As I have said, we have consid...
Lord Hart of Tenby | 520 c1270 (Link to this contribution) I will, but that is not an indication—
Lord Hart of Tenby | 520 c1270 (Link to this contribution) Let repeat what I said to the hon. Gentleman in an earlier intervention. The fact is that there are ...
Chris Williamson | 520 c1269-70 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Gentleman feel that the tragic massacres that took place in Hungerford, Dunblane and C...
Lord Hart of Tenby | 520 c1268-9 (Link to this contribution) Let me start by associating myself with the comments of many right hon. and hon. Members about the d...
Heather Wheeler | 520 c1272-3 (Link to this contribution) You have put that on the record, sir. Interestingly, I recall that we went through great angst last ...
Chris Williamson | 520 c1272 (Link to this contribution) Just for the record, I grew up in the countryside and am very familiar with it, and I regularly walk...
Heather Wheeler | 520 c1272 (Link to this contribution) It has been a pleasure to sit through the entire debate, and I look forward to hearing the closing s...
Dan Poulter | 520 c1274-5 (Link to this contribution) There is always a blame culture, and we would have to be careful that a simple form that a doctor ha...
Lord Beith | 520 c1275 (Link to this contribution) I am interested in this argument and I agree that a box-ticking exercise is no use, but GPs in rural...
Dan Poulter | 520 c1275 (Link to this contribution) My right hon. Friend makes a very good point. Let us consider how effective that piece of paper—that...
Subjects
Crime Licensing Firearms Police Regulation Sports
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