Man who shot and killed Stanley Metcalf 'can walk out of prison and buy another air rifle' after mother's campaign for licences snubbed by Home Secretary

Jenny Dees with son Stanley Metcalf, six, who died after he was shot with an air gun. Ms Dees is campaigning for mandatory licences for air weapons.

Jenny Dees' son Stanley Metcalf, six, was killed in July 2018 after being shot with an air rifle by his great-grandfather Albert Grannon, in Hull.

Grannon was jailed for three years at Sheffield Crown Court last year after pleading guilty to manslaughter and will be due for release at the end of this year.

Despite the weapon which killed Stanley requiring a firearms certificate due to being categorised as dangerous, Ms Dees said Gannon would, in theory, be able to walk out of prison and immediately purchase another almost identical air weapon without any background checks.

Jenny Dees is campaigning for mandatory licences for air weapons.

The mother has been campaigning for a new law, entitled Stanley's Law, which would make it compulsory to be licensed to own air weapons in the same way legal owners of handguns must be.

Last week, Ms Dees met with Home Secretary Priti Patel over Zoom to discuss the campaign and the dangers of air weapons, and said she had left the meeting feeling positive and that action would be taken.

Ms Patel also heard from the parents of Ben Wragge, who died in 2017 aged 13 after he and a friend were playing with an air gun belonging to the father of a friend.

But after the publication of a consultation, Ms Dees found out that although the Government plans to raise the age limit for purchasing air guns, there remain no plans to bring in mandatory licences.

Six-year-old Stanley Metcalf died after being shot in his abdomen with an air rifle

"She (Ms Patel) seemed really supportive and 110 per cent on board with us," Ms Dees said.

"At my meeting, she assured me she was sympathetic to my request, but now this new consultation is launched, I see she has no intention of licensing airguns.

"I welcome raising the age limit, and the safe storage regulations, but those minor adjustments aren’t enough, they won’t change the culture."

Stanley was the 21st person killed with an air weapon since 2007, according to the Gun Control Network (GCN).

Jenny Dees, who is campaigning for mandatory licences for air weapons, with Stanley's father Andy Metcalf

Ms Dees added: "The man who killed Stanley can go back into a shop and buy an air rifle that's pretty similar to what he had before, and there would be no database to check his background.

Along with Labour MP for Hull North Dame Diana Johnson, Ms Dees has now written to Ms Patel asking for details on what was said in the meeting after her call and for clarity on their decision not to bring in licences for air weapons.

“I want Stanley’s death to matter," Ms Dees added.

"Airguns aren’t ‘boys’ toys’, they are lethal guns.

"I want a new law, ‘Stanley’s Law’, which would do what Scotland and Northern Ireland have done. License the owners of airguns. It’s what the public wants.”

A spokesman for the Home Office 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.”

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