Offensive Weapons Bill

Craftsmen such as carpenters rely on mail order for the provision of their specialist tools becau...

I am glad that my right hon. Friend, like me, thinks that the Bill is excellent. I can give him t...

The murder of the young man to whom the Home Secretary referred at the beginning of his remarks t...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise this issue. I know that soon after the terrible crime...

As a west midlands MP, I was surprised and shocked by the latest figures on gun and knife crime, ...

I hope that my hon. Friend will agree with what I say about the Bill’s provisions on the sale of ...

A young man in my constituency was tragically murdered in an incident in Liverpool recently, and ...

The hon. Gentleman is right to talk about how, in some cases, social media contributes to the ris...

I welcome the Home Secretary’s commitment to tackling serious and violent crime, which we know ha...

I welcome the right hon. Lady’s support and the work she does on the Home Affairs Select Committe...

As my right hon. Friend will know, there is some concern among Conservative Members about the pro...

I will say a bit more about that in a moment, but my hon. Friend has raised an important issue, a...

I generally welcome the Bill, but I should point out that the measures he is talking about mean b...

According to the information that we have, weapons of this type have, sadly, been used in the tro...

If we follow my right hon. Friend’s logic, we must conclude that literally every single weapon sh...

My right hon. Friend makes the point that our response must be proportionate, and we must ensure ...

The right hon. Member for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford (Yvette Cooper) referred to the pe...

I thank my right hon. Friend for making that important point. He speaks with experience of the Ho...

My right hon. Friend has spoken of the drivers of this type of crime, and the changing nature of ...

The Bill does not focus on drugs, but my hon. Friend has made an important point. It is clear fro...

I support the Bill—I do not want the Home Secretary to think otherwise—but may I make a point abo...

I welcome the right hon. Gentleman’s support for the Bill. As he will understand, we want to rest...

Sheffield, like other cities, is deeply affected by a rise in knife crime, and I strongly support...

I understand the hon. Gentleman’s point, but, as he will know, before we settled on any of these ...

The UK already has a reputation for having the strongest and best firearms legislation across Eur...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right and I could not have put it better myself. She will know that ...

I think the point my hon. Friend the Member for Chelmsford (Vicky Ford) was making is that it is ...

I understand my hon. Friend’s point and I hope he takes some reassurance from what I said on that...

All of us on both sides of the House wish to see action taken to combat the scourge of violent cr...

My hon. Friend will know that my constituency is also very rural and I hear about issues of that ...

The Secretary of State has explained that clause 1 bans the sale of corrosive products to under-1...

As the right hon. Gentleman will know, this was consulted on during the preparation of the Bill. ...

It was clear from the consultation on high-calibre rifles that their owners were prepared to look...

I hope the hon. Gentleman has heard some of the comments made around this issue over the past 20 ...

The Secretary of State will have received correspondence from the Countryside Alliance and the Br...

The hon. Gentleman will know that these measures in the Bill are devolved in the case of Northern...

I thank my right hon. Friend for the way in which he is approaching Second Reading; it demonstrat...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right: ultimately, only so much can be done by the centre. The centr...

Building on the question of my hon. Friend the Member for Broxbourne (Mr Walker), there is an imp...

In the serious violence strategy published in April there were some examples of good practice, bu...

As a doctor who has treated children with both stab and gunshot wounds, I commend my right hon. F...

I share some of the sentiments expressed by my hon. Friend: when a Government ban anything that m...

The Home Secretary has acknowledged that justice and policing are devolved matters, and has he re...

I thank the hon. Lady for her support for the measures in the Bill. She has raised particular que...

I must go on, as a number of colleagues want to contribute to the debate.

Turning to acid a...

I welcome what my right hon. Friend is saying about acid. Will he give further thought in Committ...

My hon. Friend makes an important point, but the evidence that we have seen shows that the real i...

Will the Minister give way?

On acid?

Yes. The Home Secretary is absolutely right to legislate for this offence. Will he tell the House...

I must point out that when I said to the right hon. Gentleman, “On acid?” I was not asking him if...

A young man was murdered with a knife in terrible circumstances in Romford on Saturday evening. W...

My hon. Friend has raised the death of Jordan Douherty, which tragically occurred this weekend fo...

The Home Secretary will know that, tragically, we have had nine deaths related to youth violence ...

I thank the hon. Lady for her comments. She has made a vital point. Sadly, anyone can be on the r...

Will the Home Secretary give way?

I will take one final intervention, then conclude.

I am very grateful to the Home Secretary for allowing me to intervene again. He will be well awar...

I commend the Garda on their appointment. The Minister for Policing and the Fire Service will be ...

It is important to begin on a note of agreement. The Opposition pledged in this House that the Go...

In the west midlands, the Labour police and crime commissioner has been able to raise additional ...

Recruitment is a matter for chief constables. My understanding is that West Midlands police are u...

I wholeheartedly agree with my hon. Friend. She will be aware that I have long campaigned for Car...

I could not agree more with my hon. Friend, who is a committed campaigner for Cardiff to receive ...

One problem in my constituency following the murder on Saturday evening is the feeling that the p...

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that resources should follow demand. That is why it is a c...

Following the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell), will the ho...

It is welcome when any police force recruits additional police officers. I do not have to hand th...

Given the intelligence we have received that the Mayor of London is doubling his PR budget, what ...

The Mayor of London has put £150 million into recruiting additional police officers. I appreciate...

The hon. Lady is speaking huge common sense, as everyone in this House knows. Anyone who looks at...

The right hon. Gentleman need not worry; I will not be put off at all by interventions from Gover...

The hon. Lady mentions that this is not only a London problem, but a lot of it does emanate from ...

I completely agree that the county lines emanate from many metropolitan areas, and certainly not ...

I agree with much of what the hon. Lady says, but can she envisage how local people in Havering f...

I am sure Chelmsford has received both policemen and policewomen. I am sure the Mayor of London w...

My hon. Friend is making some excellent points, and she will recognise that in Wales the Welsh La...

I am grateful for that intervention. Across the country, such community organisations are filling...

I am a member of the Select Committee on Science and Technology, and we have been looking at the ...

I heartily recommend that the hon. Lady reads the Home Office’s own analysis, which suggests that...

As the chair of the USDAW group of MPs—I declare that interest—I welcome that commitment. I was g...

My right hon. Friend is a long-standing campaigner for the rights of shop works and I echo his po...

My hon. Friend is making a powerful case, but as someone who has recently renewed their shotgun l...

My hon. Friend brings his own personal experience to the debate and makes an important point. I a...

I thank the hon. Lady for giving way yet again. On the point about repurposing or reactivating de...

Yes, and I was not trying to suggest otherwise, but, as I have laid out, the number of crimes usi...

On the subject of a victims law, Sharon Fearon is the mother of Shaquan, a young boy who was murd...

My hon. Friend has done sterling work over the past three years on youth violence, and particular...

This is a substantial Bill that has been published only relatively recently. After today’s debate...

I am listening carefully to what the hon. Gentleman is saying. I know that he will hear me when I...

Where I am going is to make this point: somebody who had 14 previous knife offences and who was t...

Very quickly, I wholeheartedly endorse everything that my hon. Friend is saying. Does he agree th...

Absolutely. I could not agree more with my hon. Friend.

rose—

I will give way briefly to my right hon. Friend and then I will make some progress because I know...

In the same spirit as my hon. Friend the Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell), I say that the ke...

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. We hear very little in this place about people being pu...

On behalf of the Scottish National party, let me welcome the Bill. We certainly support the broad...

I rise to support the Bill and its proposed legislative changes. I shall focus particularly on kn...

My hon. Friend is exactly right. As I said earlier, the drivers—the causes—of crime are complex, ...

I thank my right hon. Friend for his intervention. I totally agree—those things are not incompati...

I agree with much of what the hon. Gentleman is saying, but may I warn him about the idea that un...

I accept what the hon. Lady says up to a point, although all the evidence, including the strong e...

When I was involved in a Select Committee inquiry into online issues, we were given evidence that...

I will come on to the point about social media. I am emphasising the point about kids who come fr...

I do not want us to get stuck on this part of the debate—my hon. Friend is obviously keen to move...

My hon. Friend is right. The evidence—again, this is from the Government’s serious violence strat...

My hon. Friend mentions vulnerable children. In so many cases, they are 12, 13 or 14 years old. D...

My hon. Friend makes a good point. There is a balance to be struck. As I said at the beginning of...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving way a second time. This dilemma has bedevilled youth j...

My right hon. Friend makes some fair points, but we have to get the balance right in our approach...

I have now to announce the result of today’s deferred Division. In respect of the question relati...

Today I am going to address the corrosive substances provisions of the Bill and welcome the progr...

The hon. Lady is making an excellent speech. She has done a lot of campaigning on this issue, and...

I absolutely agree with the right hon. Gentleman. As so many others have gone outwith the Bill, I...

I am grateful to have caught your eye, Madam Deputy Speaker, in this important and welcome Second...

My hon. Friend is right about this. It is clear from listening to a few words from him and to the...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that, as he has made some of the points I wanted to make in m...

I am sorry if I was too harsh.

My hon. Friend is not too harsh. I am simply saying to him that there is concern among Government...

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that some groups representing disabled shooters are concerned that th...

I do. Of course we want shooting to be used by every group in society; no group should in any way...

Is my hon. Friend aware that the Government’s latest impact assessment for the Bill suggests that...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for pointing out that this is going to be expensive. Nobody would...

I think my hon. Friend means mental health conditions, not medical conditions. Does he agree that...

My hon. Friend has pulled me up: words are important in this place. What I meant to say was medic...

A moment ago, my hon. Friend said he did not want to be caricatured, and that is absolutely right...

My hon. Friend makes a really potent and timely point; I was about to demonstrate why these weapo...

My hon. Friend uses the phrase “weapon of choice” among criminals. Is it not an irony that the cr...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right and it is very sad, when people gain pleasure from using these...

Does my hon. Friend not agree that the three examples he cites are actually applicable to pretty ...

That is precisely the point I am making. This whole thing would set a precedent: .5 weapons today...

I agree with my hon. Friend 100% on the point he is making. One of the ranges used is in my const...

My hon. Friend is exactly right. I urge my hon. Friend the Minister to look at this again. The pr...

I want to express rather more support for the Bill than the hon. Member for The Cotswolds (Sir Ge...

I am glad to follow the right hon. Member for East Ham (Stephen Timms), who I know has very perso...

As my hon. Friend rightly notes, resourcing is an issue, but it is equally important to ensure th...

That does indeed sound like, basically, a good idea. I think everyone agrees that police visibili...

I begin by thanking the Minister for crime, safeguarding and vulnerability for taking time out of...

I wonder whether the hon. Gentleman has, like me, received representations from legitimate sports...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. I have indeed received many representations from...

rose—

I give way to my hon. Friend and neighbour.

I thank my hon. Friend and neighbour for giving way. As well as being neighbours, we also share a...

I concur wholeheartedly with my hon. Friend. I am aware that Dyfed-Powys police already enforces ...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Ceredigion (Ben Lake). I agree with him wholeheart...

Does my hon. Friend agree that children’s criminal records should not haunt them for the rest of ...

I broadly agree with my right hon. Friend. When we criminalise a child at a young age, the proble...

My hon. Friend is making an excellent point that deserves amplification. The gated-lived, middle-...

I thank my right hon. Friend for that intervention. It is important to note, though, that althoug...

Successive Governments have failed to tackle the knife culture in this country, so in a way this ...

The hon. Gentleman raises a good point. There is no easy answer to this issue; if there was, succ...

My hon. Friend makes a very good point. As for what the Government have tried to achieve, this Bi...

I agree with my hon. Friend. I could understand it if there was a compelling case that these part...

I broadly welcome this legislation to crack down on crimes involving knives, firearms and corrosi...

Is my constituency neighbour aware that the London Borough of Barnet is one of the largest London...

I do not. I very much welcome my hon. Friend’s highlighting of that problem. I am going to come o...

What my right hon. Friend is saying is very resonant for me, because our police and crime commiss...

My hon. Friend makes a valid point. Burglary is a deeply distressing crime for its victims, but u...

It is a pleasure, if that is the right word, to speak in this important debate. From the outset, ...

You must be older than that.

His 59th—no, 69th—

I am ignoring the comments of my hon. Friends.

Give him a bus pass!

I’ll give you something in a minute.

There is a clear and compelling narrative that some ch...

Will my hon. Friend give way?

Notwithstanding my hon. Friend’s earlier rudery, I will give way.

I am sure my hon. Friend needs to take the weight off his feet for a moment or two during his mag...

My hon. Friend is right. The Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, my hon. Friend the...

The problem would be if people who lawfully hold a shotgun or firearm see this legislation and th...

My hon. Friend is right about that. Those who see these things as the opening of a Pandora’s box ...

It is a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for North Dorset (Simon Hoare). I am sorry t...

It is a prevalent liberal misassumption that things can only get better. Their mindset is that pr...

Notwithstanding my right hon. Friend’s point, does he accept that it has become a lot easier—in f...

It is true that in criminal statistics there is the well-established principle of the dark figure...

Will my right hon. Friend give way?

No, because I want to conclude my remarks.

Mr Hughes, you are very close to the top of the list. I am sure you do not want to go down the li...

As you know, Mr Deputy Speaker, generosity is not merely my middle name; it is my every name. Non...

I have to say, Mr Deputy Speaker, that I do not have any Proust. Instead, I will regale you with ...

Crime figures will do fine.

It is a great pleasure to follow my right hon. Friend the Member for the rather evocative-soundin...

I want to begin by welcoming the nature of this debate. I am a relatively new Member in this plac...

Does my hon. Friend agree that our hon. Friend the Member for Solihull (Julian Knight) made a goo...

My right hon. Friend is right. The police response to incidents is important. I am very pleased t...

I want to explain briefly why I was so keen to intervene on my right hon. Friend the Member for S...

I thank my very good and hon. Friend for allowing me to intervene. I do not understand how anyone...

My hon. Friend makes an important point. When people from the outside world look into this Chambe...

It is a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Walsall North (Eddie Hughes). He is part...

May I just advise the hon. Gentleman that the Bill is not a personal attack on the Mayor of Londo...

I didn’t say anything.

I thank you for that, because otherwise I would have something to say and that would not be helpf...

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. This is certainly not a personal attack. I can only illustrate my e...

The hon. Member for Spelthorne is helping out again. Let me just reassure you: the Bill is about ...

I was not sure who you were speaking to, Mr Deputy Speaker.

I just want to intervene on my hon. Friend to say that I was simply making a personal remark to m...

I want to move the Bill on, and I want to ensure that we do not need to have a time limit. Please...

Whether it is the Mayor of London or any police and crime commissioner, I feel that they could al...

I am delighted to speak in this debate, and, like a number of people, I have had the honour and p...

The hon. Gentleman is entirely right. As he knows, the Bill has been drafted in such a way as to ...

As I suggested, there is a social context that gave birth to the Bill—a huge increase in violent ...

The hon. Member for Belfast East (Gavin Robinson) has put his finger on an interesting point. Cla...

That is a legitimate point. I hope that many of these difficulties and anomalies will be ironed o...

Prior to the debate, we were furnished with a huge number of statistics, and those statistics mak...

I am particularly concerned that on the internet, for under a tenner, one can buy a commando knif...

My hon. Friend is all too aware of the use of such weapons from his previous life. He makes a val...

Many of my constituents in Chelmsford write to tell me how concerned they are about the changing ...

The hon. Lady is correct about the measures relating to firearms. Does she agree that those who t...

I completely agree and that brings me to my next point. What I learnt from looking at our firearm...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Chelmsford (Vicky Ford).

I have had the oppo...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. In this Bill, the Government are considering removing .50 cal...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right, but this is about the purpose of the Bill. What are we trying...

Of course, the hon. Gentleman was about to say that it is also subject to a ministerial decision ...

The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right, but it is subject to a ministerial decision only if...

This has been a wide-ranging and, on the whole, thoughtful debate. There is agreement across the ...

I am grateful to all hon. and right hon. Members across the House for their contributions to the ...

My hon. Friend is right about the sale on the internet of those weapons, but the internet has oth...

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend, not just for the concise and clear points he made in his c...

Will my hon. Friend take an intervention?

I will finish my point if I may.

That is the background against which we are operating. Hav...

Will the Minister acknowledge that, even assuming the Bill makes it to the statute book, we will ...

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend. Indeed she and my hon. Friends the Members for Hornchurch ...

My hon. Friend will have heard the widespread concern in many different parts of the United Kingd...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his intervention and for his contribution. He and I have been...

I urge the hon. Lady to be firm on the issue of guns and gun control. She is loquacious on being ...

That is literally the next thing on my to-do list. The hon. Lady and the right hon. Member for Ea...

Before I proceed to the next business, I have now to announce a correction to the result of today...