Violent Crime Reduction Bill

moved Amendment No. 32: Before Clause 26, insert the following new clause- ““OLYMPIC TARGET PISTOLS After section 7 of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 (firearms of historic interest) (c. 5) there is inserted- ““7A OLYMPIC TARGET PISTOLS (1) The authority of the Secretary of State or the Scottish Ministers (by virtue of provision made under section 63 of the Scotland Act 1998) is not required by virtue of subsection (1)(aba) of section 5 of the 1968 Act for a person to have in his possession, or to purchase or acquire, or to sell or transfer, an authorised pistol if he is authorised by a firearms certificate to have the pistol in his possession, or to purchase or acquire it, subject to the following conditions- (a) that it is only for use in connection with training for and competing in the Olympic sport of target pistol shooting, (b) that it is only for use at regional shooting clubs designated by the Secretary of State as a place where such pistols can be used, (c) that it is stored at such designated sites and can only be removed subject to the authorisation of the Secretary of State. (2) For the purposes of this section an authorised pistol is a pistol whose specifications are determined by order made by statutory instrument by the Secretary of State. (3) In determining such specifications, the Secretary of State must consult the International Shooting Sports Federation. (4) This section shall not come into force before 1st January 2010 and shall expire on 31st December 2012; but this is subject to subsection (5). (5) Her Majesty may by Order in Council provide that this section shall (instead of expiring on 31st December 2012) expire at the end of a period specified in the Order. (6) No recommendation may be made to Her Majesty in Council to make an Order under subsection (5) unless a draft of the Order has been laid before, and approved by resolution of, each House of Parliament.”””” The noble Lord said: My Lords, I bring this amendment back on Report because we have no clarification and are nowhere near where I had hoped we would be in discussions with Her Majesty's Government. My objective is to try to persuade the Government to be clear about their intentions. The objective of the amendment is to persuade the Government to amend the firearms legislation so that it does not disadvantage UK competitors in small-bore/pistol shooting in forthcoming Olympic Games. I am sure that the Minister needs no reminder that training by all athletes for the 2012 Olympic Games has already started and is intense, vital and ongoing. As the law stands, pistol shooters and the like are at a significant disadvantage. I have two letters in front of me. I hope that I am allowed to have them, but if not, bad luck for the Government. The first was sent to my noble friend Lady Anelay by Simon King, who states: "““The Government is committed to allowing pistol shooting events at the 2012 London Olympics. The Secretary of State already has sufficient powers under section 5 of the 1968 Firearms Act to authorise competitors and officials to possess competition pistols for the duration of the Games, and the special warm-up events. These powers were used successfully for the 2002 Commonwealth Games held in Manchester…The same powers could be used to allow a small number of potential medal winners to practise in Great Britain in advance of 2012””." That is not what we are after—it really is not. It is a sensitive issue and great care is needed to ensure that public safety is not put at risk. Let us not go totally crazy—we finished talking about the IRA and so forth only half an hour ago. Legislating for professional people to have specialised weapons under a special regime will not possibly, in anyone’s imagination, endanger anyone’s life anywhere. It is not real thinking. I understand the political sensitivity and I can see that people are frightened. I regret to say that my party started this legislation some years ago. It has carried on, but it should not have done and I ask the Minister to rethink it. I am more concerned about a letter to Richard Caborn signed ““pp Vernon Coaker””. Its earlier paragraphs say more or less the same as the letter to my noble friend Lady Anelay, but the last paragraph says: "““Whether or not we will use our section 5 powers to authorise such a scheme will ultimately be a matter of detail but I agree in principle that this should be explored further””." I submit that the matter should be explored further and very quickly. A conclusion should be reached and the whole situation clarified. Frankly, as an Olympian and an athlete, and as one who cares about the medal tables in 2012, I think that bureaucratic stupidity is getting in the way of reality. I know that I am using strong words in your Lordships' House, but I feel strongly about the issue. Having talked to the Minister—I thank him for giving me his time—to Richard Caborn and to others, and having been received sympathetically, I think that it is time for the talking to stop and for the Government to come forward with a solution to this issue, which should not be difficult to dream up. I beg to move.