LONDON (AFP) — The government said Thursday that it plans to ban deactivated firearms by the end of the year after a huge increase in the number of model and pellet guns that have been converted to fire live ammunition.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announced the ban during a visit to Liverpool where 11-year-old schoolboy Rhys Jones was shot dead in August 2007 as he walked home from playing in a game of football.
The unprovoked murder shocked the nation and Smith said the ban would protect the public and give police the power to remove the 'black market' firearms.
The police believe there are an estimated 120,000 deactivated weapons in circulation across Britain.
The government look set to reclassify them as replica guns, which are already banned.
"Tackling gun crime is key to making people feel safer and more secure in their communities. We already have the tightest controls in Europe but there is more we can do to remove the threat of gun crime," she said.
Gill Marshall-Andrews of the Gun Control Network said: "We are delighted. This has been on our agenda for a long time. It is a big loophole in our firearms legislation."
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