Government's new air weapon laws are not tough enough says mother of young boy shot dead

Six-year-old Stanley Metcalf, from Hull, was shot dead by his great-grandfather Albert Grannon at his home in July 2018.

Since Stanley's death, his mother Jenny Dees, has been campaigning tirelessly to educate and change the licensing of air weapons.

Under Stanley's Law, it would be an offence to use, possess or acquire an air weapon without a certificate in this country. Scotland and Northern Ireland have licensing laws, but in England and Wales you do not need a licence to own most air guns.

In a pivotal moment for her campaign, Miss Dees met with Home Secretary Priti Patel online this week, desperate to convince her a change needs to be made, but despite the Government setting out a consultation to strengthen firearms laws just 24 hours later, Miss Dees feels they are not enough.

She said: "The initial consultation proposed by the Government includes removing exemptions allowing people from the age of 14 to have unsupervised air weapons on private premises, as well as making it an offence if someone fails to lock up an air weapon and its ammunition separately in the presence of an under 18 while not in use.

"While I am pleased with this and it is a huge step forward, I will not be fully satisfied until it is an offence in law to use, possess or acquire an air weapon without a certificate in England.

"From what I can make out there is nothing about this in the consultation and this is the whole aim of my campaign.

"The Government looked at tougher gun licensing laws in January 2018 and deemed it not necessary. Just six months later, Stanley died because of one and this will always be my argument.

"No other family should have to go through the heartache we have."

Stanley was shot by Grannon, using a .22-calibre gun.

The pensioner, who was jailed for three years in July 2019, had the weapon modified to make it more powerful, but did not apply for a licence thinking he would not get one because he was partially disabled.

The Government states that while most air weapons are not licensed, they are highly regulated.

It states that its latest proposals focus on how to keep air weapons stored securely and away from children.

It also states that the consultation proposes further, targeted controls on the security of air weapons and access to them by those under the age of 18.

Minister for Crime and Policing, Kit Malthouse said: “The loss suffered by Stanley’s family is truly unimaginable – we must do all we can to ensure that a tragedy like this never happens again.

“Our country already has some of the toughest firearms regulations in the world, and we are determined to ensure they stay this way.

“Air weapons are already tightly controlled and our proposals are focused on protecting children, while balancing the needs of people who use them safely and responsibly.”

A Home Office spokesman added: "We have launched a consultation on firearms safety measures. These include air weapons controls, including removing exemptions allowing people from the age of 14 to have unsupervised possession of air weapons on private premises; making it an offence to fail to lock up an air weapon and its ammunition separately in the presence of under-18s while not in use; and working with industry and retailers to improve the safe keeping of air weapons and advice at the point of sale

There have been a number of tragic deaths where young persons have had access to air weapons unsupervised. These have devastated families, and our proposals focus on how to keep air weapons stored securely and away from children."

Miss Dees is expected to meet with the Home Secretary following the end of the consultation in February.