Anger over Tory MP's gun gaffe
Kirsty Scott
Wednesday March 10, 2004
The Guardian
The Conservative leader, Michael Howard, has been urged to sack Patrick Mercer, his frontbench spokesman on home security, after the MP attacked the UK's handgun ban and suggested children in rural areas should be taught to handle firearms. Mr Mercer made the comments at a fringe meeting at the Tories' spring conference at the weekend. He was quoted as saying that banning handguns because people got shot was like banning cars because people were killed in road accidents.
The Daily Record yesterday quoted Mr Mercer as telling the meeting that the handgun ban had been a "kneejerk reaction". "It's exactly the same argument that I would deploy about joyriding. It is clearly highly undesirable that people get killed on the roads by motor cars. But we don't ban motor cars. People need to learn how to drive a motor car safely and have respect for it." The paper then quoted Mr Mercer as saying: "It is so much more sensible to train children to handle and have a respect for weapons than to simply ban them. It is so shortsighted."
Anti-gun campaigners said his remarks, which come a week before the eighth anniversary of the Dunblane shootings, were "crass and appalling" and called for him to be censured by his party. Mr Mercer was not available for interview yesterday but he told BBC Radio Scotland that his remarks had been taken out of context. The MP for Newark, a former soldier, claimed he had said that children in rural communities should be taught how to use "non-lethal" weapons such as air rifles as a prelude to using shotguns in later life.
"I made no mention of children being taught to use handguns," he said. "The only thing I said was that in rural areas it made sense for things like airguns and BB guns to be handled by children so that in later life when they have access to shotguns they knew how to handle them safely and with respect." Mr Mercer said the handgun ban had done nothing to make Britain safer. "While laws have been introduced to ban legally held pistols in gun clubs, that had absolutely no effect on gun crime," he said. "If anything, it has driven it up or helped to drive it up."
John Swinney, leader of the Scottish National party, said Mr Mercer's comments were disgraceful and demanded that Mr Howard either back him or sack him. "Patrick Mercer's remarks are an insult to the memory of the victims of Dunblane and an insult to the families who campaigned so hard to get handguns banned," Mr Swinney said.
Tom Watson, Labour MP for West Bromwich East, said: "This is a sick joke by Patrick Mercer and I would expect Michael Howard to distance himself from these extreme comments." Mick North, whose daughter Sophie died in the Dunblane tragedy, said the MP was wrong to say say gun crime was rising. "He should look at the figures. Gun crime in Scotland is significantly down compared to the early 1990s," he said.
A spokeswoman for Conservative central office said the party did not plan to revise the current policy on handguns. "Patrick Mercer was speaking in a private capacity and he is not the party spokesman on guns," she said.
Kirsty Scott
Wednesday March 10, 2004
The Guardian
The Conservative leader, Michael Howard, has been urged to sack Patrick Mercer, his frontbench spokesman on home security, after the MP attacked the UK's handgun ban and suggested children in rural areas should be taught to handle firearms. Mr Mercer made the comments at a fringe meeting at the Tories' spring conference at the weekend. He was quoted as saying that banning handguns because people got shot was like banning cars because people were killed in road accidents.
The Daily Record yesterday quoted Mr Mercer as telling the meeting that the handgun ban had been a "kneejerk reaction". "It's exactly the same argument that I would deploy about joyriding. It is clearly highly undesirable that people get killed on the roads by motor cars. But we don't ban motor cars. People need to learn how to drive a motor car safely and have respect for it." The paper then quoted Mr Mercer as saying: "It is so much more sensible to train children to handle and have a respect for weapons than to simply ban them. It is so shortsighted."
Anti-gun campaigners said his remarks, which come a week before the eighth anniversary of the Dunblane shootings, were "crass and appalling" and called for him to be censured by his party. Mr Mercer was not available for interview yesterday but he told BBC Radio Scotland that his remarks had been taken out of context. The MP for Newark, a former soldier, claimed he had said that children in rural communities should be taught how to use "non-lethal" weapons such as air rifles as a prelude to using shotguns in later life.
"I made no mention of children being taught to use handguns," he said. "The only thing I said was that in rural areas it made sense for things like airguns and BB guns to be handled by children so that in later life when they have access to shotguns they knew how to handle them safely and with respect." Mr Mercer said the handgun ban had done nothing to make Britain safer. "While laws have been introduced to ban legally held pistols in gun clubs, that had absolutely no effect on gun crime," he said. "If anything, it has driven it up or helped to drive it up."
John Swinney, leader of the Scottish National party, said Mr Mercer's comments were disgraceful and demanded that Mr Howard either back him or sack him. "Patrick Mercer's remarks are an insult to the memory of the victims of Dunblane and an insult to the families who campaigned so hard to get handguns banned," Mr Swinney said.
Tom Watson, Labour MP for West Bromwich East, said: "This is a sick joke by Patrick Mercer and I would expect Michael Howard to distance himself from these extreme comments." Mick North, whose daughter Sophie died in the Dunblane tragedy, said the MP was wrong to say say gun crime was rising. "He should look at the figures. Gun crime in Scotland is significantly down compared to the early 1990s," he said.
A spokeswoman for Conservative central office said the party did not plan to revise the current policy on handguns. "Patrick Mercer was speaking in a private capacity and he is not the party spokesman on guns," she said.