Clause 28 - Restriction on sale and purchase of primers
Violent Crime Reduction Bill
11:15 am
Hazel Blears (Minister of State (Policing, Security and Community Safety), Home Office; Salford, Labour)
I can tell the hon. Member for Huntingdon that the Government are not whimsically legislating. The legislation is framed so that it is practical and effective. I have taken the trouble to look at primers and ammunition-loading presses, imitations and deactivated weapons. This is not an area in which I am an expert, but I wanted to make sure before I came to the Committee that I had some understanding—albeit not as deep as that of those who are involved with such matters every day—of what we are trying to do.
Complete rounds of ammunition are subject to certificate control. Components are not—they can be purchased by anybody. The Committee will agree that we should not allow that situation to persist. Some criminal gangs seek to avoid prosecution by keeping ammunition in its component form and putting it together just before they go out to commit criminal acts. I am mindful of the case of David Bieber, who shot and killed P.C. Broadhurst in 2003. He was found in possession of home-made as well as commercial ammunition. We take the issue seriously.
Cartridge cases, lead bullets and smokeless powder are all necessary to make ammunition, but the end product is essentially inert unless it has a primer. It is on that that we want to concentrate our efforts. We recognise that reloading ammunition is an important part of rifle-shooting sports, and that around 20 million primers are sold to law-abiding shooters. We have therefore tried to be proportionate in our efforts to control the situation, and to ensure that only people with a legitimate need for primers should be able to purchase them. Many dealers already ask to see a firearms certificate before they will sell such items, but we want to enshrine that good practice in law by making it a statutory requirement.
We do not want to go wider than we have to, and are mainly concerned about the type of ammunition used in weapons such as handguns and sub-machine guns. I accept that the reloading of shotgun cartridges and the use of primers with muzzle-loading arms is rarely a problem. We do not want to include fired or inert primers, although it is arguable that they are not included because they cannot ignite the powder charge, or primer-actuated devices such as cable-cutters, nail guns, distress flares or air bags in cars. I also accept the validity of the argument that some antique firearms come cased with original primers, although there may not be many around.
As this area is a potential minefield for interpretation—that is not my joke; it is in my brief, so I can blame it on the relevant official—it has been suggested that the clause might be better predicated on seeking to control cap-type primers that are designed for use in metallic ammunition. That term is used in all explosives regulations and accords with UN guidance. The only point on which I take issue with the hon. Member for Huntingdon is his proposal to tie down the measure to specific numbers. I am reluctant to do that, given that they could change.
I am satisfied that if we were to go for a definition on controlling cap-type primers designed for use in metallic ammunition, that would meet our policy of intention, although it would have drafting implications for the rest of the clause. We will, therefore, introduce an amendment that narrows down the primers to those relevant to that kind of ammunition. That is not defined by UN numbers, because I want there to be flexibility to include other types of ammunition if those numbers change. With that assurance, I ask the hon. Gentleman to withdraw his amendment.