Clause 28 - Restriction on sale and purchase of primers
Violent Crime Reduction Bill
11:15 am
Jonathan Djanogly (Shadow Solicitor General (Also Assists Shadow Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs), (Assist the Home Affairs Team); Huntingdon, Conservative)
I beg to move amendment No. 196, in clause 28, page 29, line 39, leave out subsection (1) and insert—
'(1) For the purposes of this section a primer is a cap type primer, UN numbers 0044, 0377, 0378 for use with metallic small arms ammunition and shall not include any fired or inert primers or any primers manufactured for use in equipment which does not fire a projectile.'.
Clause 28 restricts the sale of primers. Although we do not object to the general thrust of the clause, the devil again lies in the detail. Primers form an essential part of shooting equipment, and many members of the shooting community enjoy loading their own ammunition; it forms part of the overall sport. The Gun Trade Association Ltd. estimates that more than 30 million primers are sold every year in the UK, and sales of primers increase dramatically in the run-up to the shooting season. As it stands, the clause is flawed, so we have tabled various amendments.
After consultation with the many interested parties, technical difficulties became apparent, not least that a restriction on the sale of primers would catch distress flares, shotgun cartridges and even the air bags used by the motor vehicle industry. I hope that it is not the Government's intention to criminalise everyone who buys or sells modern motor cars.
Primers are used for reloading a wide variety of cartridges, including those used in hunting, target shooting, research into heritage firearms, historical re-enactment and living history. Reloading allows for the production of custom-made ammunition, which enhances accuracy. That is an important animal welfare consideration, as it can increase the likelihood of instantaneous death when an animal is shot. Reloading is often the only way in which people who shoot vintage firearms can produce cartridges, as original ammunition is no longer manufactured. The forensic science service and other forensic examiners confirm that criminals rarely use reloaded ammunition. If anybody still doubts the Government's lack of expert consultation, this clause provides a clear example of the way in which they are whimsically legislating without first seeking proper advice.
It is necessary to define primers in subsection (1). After a certain amount of the sort of consultation that seems not to have been carried out by the Government, we think that the most sensible option is the United Nations definition relating to metallic cap-type primers. The UN numbers for primers for cartridges are 0044, 0377 and 0378. Those numbers are grouped within different hazard classification bands, and it is therefore logical to define primers within this Bill as cap-type primers UN numbers 0044, 0377 and 0378 for use with metallic small-arms ammunition. Such a definition would catch the potentially dangerous primers that are clearly intended to be caught by the Bill, but exempt those used for shotguns, security flares and car airbags. Also excluded in our definition are
''any fired or inert primers, or any primers manufactured for use in equipment which does not fire a projectile.''
That is particularly important for re-enactment societies, theatre companies and film producers, all of which use blank-firing weapons. Many war veterans have spent shells from the second world war and many blank-firing weapons are used in organised heritage fairs. The clause should be drafted so as not to cover such acceptable uses.