Twenty firearms licences were revoked by police in Greater Manchester last year, new figures show.

Home Office figures show 20 firearms licences were revoked by Greater Manchester Police in 2022 – whilst 19 people have had their licences revoked so far this year.

In 2008-09, when records first began, six firearms were revoked.

Meanwhile, a further 26 shotgun licences were revoked last year.

The Firearms and Explosives Licensing Manager for Greater Manchester Police said: “The Home Office introduced Firearms Licensing: Statutory Guidance for Chief Officers of Police (publishing.service.gov.uk) statutory guidance for Chief Constables in October 2021.

“This guidance provides expectations surrounding various aspects of firearms licensing especially when assessing a person’s suitability.

“It lists serious factors which, when in existence, can lead to the refusal or revocation of a person’s certificate. This guidance has been further updated in February 2023.

“GMP’s Firearms and Explosives Licensing Unit assesses the suitability of each person when they apply for a certificate and at each five-year renewal.

“The FELU will also re-consider the suitability of a certificate holder in response to information from Police Incidents, Partners in Health, Adult and Child Services and other partners such as Environment Agency, NCA amd Local authorities.

“There are a number of reasons as to why revocations are carried out, including domestic abuse allegations, failure to comply with regulations, public order incidents and concerns surrounding the health of a certificate holder.

"Because of these more stringent assessments, in 2021, 25 people had their licences revoked, in 2022 there were 20 and in 2023 to date, 19 people have had their licences revoked. This is something which is on an upward trend.

"In relation to stolen firearms, in 2021 four firearms, three shotguns and one rifle were stolen in two separate incidents. In both 2022 and 2023, one shotgun was stolen.

“The FELU respond to all reports of theft robustly and will support the criminal investigations by Detectives in the district CID.

"Any stolen guns are circulated on the Police National Computer and in local, regional and national bulletins so they may be identified if found. If there have been any breaches of security leading to the theft an investigation will be conducted which may lead to the revocation of a certificate and a prosecution.

"The vast majority of Greater Manchester’s certificate holders are extremely responsible individuals who maintain high levels of security where their guns are stored or when being used.

“The number of instances of thefts are thankfully extremely low in recent years."

Across England and Wales, there were 418 firearms revocations in 2022-23 – up from 385 the year before and the highest figure on record, which nationally began in 1992.

Some 1,161 shotgun licences were removed, the highest figure in the last six years.

The British Association for Shooting and Conservation praised the vetting process individuals must pass when applying for a licence due to the small percentage of overall certificate holders that have their licence revoked.

Martin Parker, head of firearms at the association, said the reason for the record numbers is "almost certainly the introduction of statutory guidance on suitability checks of certificate holders in 2021", which the BASC assisted in creating to improve consistency across police forces in England and Wales.

Mr Parker added: "Shooting is an incredibly popular activity, incorporating tens of thousands of jobs, highly competitive target and clay pigeon shooting, and essential wildlife management."

Action on Armed Violence, a campaign group that aims to end armed violence, said the UK's gun laws "work", with firearms deaths lower nationally than in many other countries.

Iain Overton, executive director of AOAV, said the figures "can be viewed two ways: the first is, reassuringly, in that there are attempts to assure that firearms in the UK are only held by those capable of using them legally. The second is a cause of concern, that the numbers are rising".

"The truth is that we, compared to many countries, are a remarkably safe nation for firearm deaths. Ultimately, we should be more concerned with knife crime than gun crime. In an imperfect world, our gun laws work," he added.

The figures also show 522 firearms and shotguns were lost or stolen across England and Wales in 2022-23 – 19 per cent higher than the year before and 43 per cent higher than two years ago.

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