Dunblane father urges Scots control of guns law

Published on Saturday 7 March 2009 19:44

A FATHER whose five year-old daughter was murdered in the Dunblane massacre has called for firearms legislation to be devolved to the Scottish Parliament.

Dr Mick North has argued that giving MSPs control over firearms would allow them to tighten laws to deal with Scotland's specific gun problems.

North, who lost his daughter Sophie in the killings, on March 13, 1996, claimed that UK ministers tended to ignore Scottish trends in gun use and misuse.

His argument, set out in his submission to the Calman Commission – the body set up to examine giving Holyrood more powers – once again sets him on a collision course with the country sports and shooting lobby.

North has been a prominent campaigner for tighter gun controls since Thomas Hamilton's shooting spree at Dunblane Primary School, which saw him take the lives of 16 pupils and their teacher before turning his gun on himself.

"Powers over policing and justice are already devolved and it is perverse that this one key area of legislation, whose consequences are felt by local communities and are dealt with and administered by local police forces and courts, remains reserved to Westminster," North said.

The SNP has long argued that the Scottish Parliament should have control over gun laws. Last week, the Lib Dems made a similar point when it outlined improvements they believe should be made to the constitution.

The gun lobby remains opposed to the idea. In its submission to Calman, the British Shooting Sports Council claimed that devolving firearms legislation would harm the economy and require border controls between Scotland and England.

David Penn, British Shooting Sports Council secretary, said: "At present there are no border controls between England and Scotland but, if firearms legislation were to be different in the two countries, some sort of control might well be necessary and this would impact on the free flow of general trade."