Firearms licensing law 'must change'

POLICE have called for a change in firearm licensing law which could have stopped Derrick Bird obtaining the weapons he used on his killing spree in Cumbria earlier this year.

A review carried out by the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) recommended criminals who receive suspended jail terms should be barred from holding a gun licence for five years.

Bird, who shot dead 12 people on June 2, was sentenced 20 years ago to six months in prison suspended for a year when he was convicted of stealing decorating materials from his then employer.

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He also had a drink-driving conviction and had been arrested over claims he demanded payment with menaces after a customer made off from his cab without paying.

But the 52-year-old was allowed to keep his shotgun certificate, first acquired just before his 17th birthday, because neither of his convictions warranted an immediate custodial sentence to trigger an automatic ban.

The review by Adrian Whiting, chairman of Acpo's Firearms and Licensing Working Group, has proposed that anyone handed a jail term of three months and upwards which is wholly suspended should be prohibited from possessing licensed weapons for five years.

Meanwhile, more details of Bird's rampage were revealed, including his bid to retrieve one of his three shotguns which he had transferred to another certificate holder. It emerged he tried to recover the gun shortly after he committed the first two murders, killing his solicitor Kevin Commons, born and brought up in Doncaster, and his twin brother David.

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Bird went to the other person's house and a two-minute conversation followed before he was refused access to the gun and left, going towards Whitehaven.

Cumbria chief constable Craig Mackey said he did not believe the person was aware of the gunman's crazed intentions and said the event would be explored further at an inquest next year.

Police also said Bird fired a total of 54 rounds of ammunition from the two weapons he used in the attacks – including 31 rounds from a shotgun which he illegally shortened the barrels of in the hours before the murders.

Bird, of Rowrah, Cumbria, also injured 11 others before turning his gun on himself.

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Mr Whiting said his recommendation to further control gun licences was "very much influenced" by Bird's shootings. "I cannot say it would have made a difference in this case but it would have been another significant factor to take into account," he said.

In his report he stated: "Of course Derrick Bird would have been eligible to have made a fresh application for grant well ahead of the events of 2010 but the fact that he would have once been prohibited would have been a specific consideration in any such decision to grant again."

He also said a key improvement would be to establish formal

links between GPs, mental health and police services to enable medical professionals to alert police to concerns over gun holders.

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A second independent review to examine how Cumbria Constabulary responded to the killings on June 2 is due to report back in January.

Procedures robust says review

The review ruled that "no reasonable opportunities" within the licensing system could have prevented the killings.

It said Cumbria Constabulary and other relevant agencies had no information prior to the rampage which should reasonably have led to the seizure of Bird's three shotguns and a .22 rifle which he successfully applied to use as a firearm for pest control in 2007.

It concluded that Bird had fulfilled all "necessary requirements for issue" and all appropriate inquiries were made, including home visits.

The force's firearms licensing procedures were "robust" and in line with the law and Home Office guidance, the review added.

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