MP WELCOMES GUN LICENCE UPDATE AFTER REVIEW OF CUMBRIA SHOOTINGS

South Lakes MP Tim Farron has today welcomed news that the Home Office has suggested that people who have been given suspended sentences could be refused a firearms licence.

Derrick Bird shot dead 12 people inCumbriain June 2010 before turning the gun on himself. Late last year, the Home Affairs Select Committee wrote a scathing report and made a series of recommendations to the government.

The Home Office said it would update guidance rather than make any new laws. It said it had not taken on all the recommendations but would take some forward and put them under review. Derrick Bird would not have been able to own a firearm under the new plan as he had a suspended sentence previously for theft.

Tim said: "Our communities remain shocked by last year's tragedy. Since then I have asked the government to consider ways that they could make sure the gun laws are fit for purpose. This new proposal will help to make our communities safer and is a proportionate response to the tragedies as we seek to learn the lessons."