On March 13 1996, a man walked into a primary school in Dunblane, Scotland, armed with four handguns and several hundred rounds of ammunition. In the school gymnasium, he killed 16 young children and their teacher, and injured many others. This horrific tragedy prompted significant gun control reforms, including a ban on civilian possession of most handguns.
But 30 years later, the UK’s gun safety issues have not been fully solved. Two mass shootings in subsequent years, in Cumbria and Plymouth, add to the evidence that gun law reform in Britain has largely been event-driven. Changes only happened following tragedies – preventing future tragedies has been overlooked.
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After the Plymouth attack, British gun laws under scrutiny
Shotgun regulation has been a particular problem. Shotguns are far more frequently criminally misused than other types of licensed firearm. In the year ending March 2025, 346 shotguns were criminally misused, compared to just 76 rifles. Shotguns are also far more frequently lost or stolen, thereby contributing to illegal firearm supply.
Over the last two decades, there have been 68 domestic firearms deaths, murders and murder/suicides. The perpetrator is almost always a male gun owner, with victims disproportionately female, and most likely to be shot using a licensed firearm.
At the root of these problems are gaps in the process by which police grant firearms certificates. All of Britain’s mass shootings have been perpetrated using licensed, legally owned firearms.
Since Dunblane, police firearm licensing has attracted increasing scrutiny from many quarters. There are concerns about the diligence shown by police firearm licensing units when assessing the suitability of applicants or renewals. Until 2021, very few gun licences were revoked. However, in recent years the number of revoked certificates has increased.
Police have failed to identify disqualifying factors, or overlooked falsehoods made on gun licence applications. And in a number of recent domestic shooting tragedies, police have carelessly returned confiscated firearms to unsuitable people.
Different licensing standards
Many of these challenges are rooted in the complexity of the 1968 Firearms Act, which creates different licensing standards for rifles and shotguns. Rifles were originally thought to be “more lethal” because of their power and range. But of course, this means nothing in close domestic settings.
Meanwhile, the recent statutory safety guidance to police makes it absolutely clear that no-one denied a rifle certificate on safety and suitability grounds should ever be permitted a shotgun. A single licensing standard could significantly simplify matters.
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After the Plymouth shooting in 2021, the coroner identified a “catastrophic failure” in shotgun licensing, and made a number of recommendations. These included improving nationally-accredited training for firearms enquiry officers, better resourcing of licensing departments, improved information sharing between police and health authorities and tighter statutory guidance. Importantly, it also included subjecting both shotguns and rifles to the same rigorous safety standards.
Following a shooting incident in Euston in 2023, the prime minister, Keir Starmer, suggested that the rules for the licensing of shotguns should be aligned with the more rigorous standards applied to rifles.
These proposals were broadly endorsed by the Independent Office for Police Conduct and the Scottish Affairs Select Committee. The College of Policing began a major overhaul of firearm licensing procedures and the training of firearms enquiry officers. That programme is currently being rolled out. In August 2025, the Home Office announced additional proposals to tighten the licensing process, but promised to consult on the changes.
Shooting representatives have objected to many of the proposals, voicing concerns about increased costs and further inconvenience to gun owners. They have longstanding complaints about delays and alleged inefficiencies in the licensing process. The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Shooting and Conservation, effectively parliament’s own gun lobby, organised a petition and debate to resist the proposal to combine the licensing standards.
Firearms controls fit for the future
There is unlikely to be any single quick fix for the deeply-rooted problems facing firearm licensing in the UK. The key legislation is outdated and exhibits “labyrinthine complexity”.
The law has been substantially amended at least nine times and supplemented by new case law and guidance. Yet it still contains major gaps, contradictions and ambiguities. It has been outpaced by new firearm trends and technologies such as 3D-printing, online marketing and new weapons trafficking practices.
Another area of concern involves the country’s forensic science capacity, which a recent House of Lords committee report described as “dysfunctional” and barely fit for purpose.
Recent research has also exposed important information gaps undermining the capability of the National Firearms Licensing Management System. And the National Ballistics Intelligence Service, which coordinates the country’s hitherto successful national intelligence-led approach to gun crime since 2008, is not fully utilised by all police forces. This significantly affects its ability to develop a thorough intelligence-led assessment of illegal firearms in the country and reduce gun crime.
Successful firearm safety depends on many factors: clear national policies, precise laws, vigilant policing, scrupulous licensing processes and effective intelligence capabilities. In the case of Dunblane and Plymouth, tragedy energised political will and overcame opposition to firearm safety reforms. We must continue to work for public safety today, we cannot wait for another tragedy.
