A SOMERSET MP believes that 99.9% of gunowners in the UK are "responsible and law-abiding" - and says they should not be placed under stricter regulations - despite the recent mass shooting in Plymouth which left five dead. 

Jake Davison, 22, killed five people on Thursday, August 12, including his mother and a three-year-old girl, in the Keyham area of Plymouth.

Davison then turned the gun on himself before armed police officers reached him. 

Devon and Cornwall Police had revoked Davison's shotgun certificate and weapon in December following an allegation of assault against him in September. They were returned to him in July. 

The incident has prompted a debate over UK gun laws, with many calling for harsher restrictions.

However, Ian Liddell-Grainger, the Conservative MP for Bridgwater and West Somerset and a gun owner himself, said: "Although all sorts of noises are now being made about the police being more rigorous in checking on people’s suitability to obtain and hold licences that is something of a smokescreen.

"Clearly what has happened in this instance was a failing not of the system but of the police – the very people who are supposed to be in charge of it."

Bridgwater Mercury:

An inquiry has been launched into the police force's firearms licensing procedures, overseen by the National Police Chiefs’ Council.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct is already investigating the police's decision to return Davison's shotgun and certificate. 

And the government has announced that firearms applicants will be subject to social media checks.

Alison Hernandez, Devon and Cornwall police and crime commissioner, said: "I have spent considerable time with this community after this appalling incident and want to reassure them that we stand with them at this tremendously difficult time. 

"We must not jump to conclusions about the reasons for these heinous crimes but await the Independent Office of Police Conduct’s investigation, a National Police Chiefs’ Council-led inquiry into the police’s procedures and the coroner’s report as we seek to fully understand what, if any, changes may need to be made into firearms licensing procedures.

"I am assisting the chief constable to organise a fast review of the general procedures of firearms licensing in Devon and Cornwall to ensure they are following national guidance correctly.

"We will also be working with police and crime commissioners from around the country to ensure that if there are lessons to be learned about licensing procedures in England and Wales these will be shared with colleagues from around the country." 

Liddell-Grainger, who had to hand in his weapons after forgetting to renew his licence in 2016, said: "The indisputable fact is that 99.9 per cent of all gun owners in this country are responsible and law-abiding – and as a result of changes brought in at various times in recent years the issue and monitoring of gun licences generally is a far more rigidly-controlled area.

"We should not forget, either, that the vast majority of gun-related crime in Britain involves the use of illegal weapons, not those which are owned and used for sport or for routine pest control.

"There are hundreds of legally-held and responsibly-used guns in my constituency and I would be very unhappy indeed if their owners suddenly found themselves placed under more onerous restrictions – to whatever extent – merely because someone in a neighbouring police force has made a catastrophically bad decision with ultimately tragic consequences." 

There are at least 1,173 firearms and 2,671 shotguns per 100,000 people in the Avon and Somerset police force area.