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Blair wants gun crime age reduced Blair wants gun crime age reduced
(about 1 hour later)
Tony Blair has said he wishes to lower to 17 the age at which long prison sentences could be handed out for possessing a gun. Tony Blair wants to lower the age to 17 at which young people can receive long prison sentences for possessing a gun.
The PM wants the age limit for the minimum five-year jail term for having illegal firearms reduced from 21. Announcing a firearms law review, he said he was considering lowering the age from 21 for a mandatory five-year jail term for carrying a gun.
He also proposed criminalising gang membership and protect people who give evidence against gangs. He told the BBC he was also considering criminalising gang membership and how to protect people giving evidence.
Mr Blair was speaking on BBC TV after four people were shot dead in London this month. But he insisted that gun crime was "a specific problem within a specific criminal culture".
He was speaking after four fatal shootings in London this month.
Three of them were teenagers shot dead in south London - two of them in their own homes.Three of them were teenagers shot dead in south London - two of them in their own homes.
And on Saturday, a 28-year-old man was shot dead in Hackney, east London, while three men are in hospital after being shot in two separate attacks in the Moss Side and Longsight areas of Manchester. And on Saturday, a 28-year-old man was shot dead in Hackney, east London, while three men are still in hospital after being shot in two separate attacks in the Moss Side and Longsight areas of Manchester.
Minimum term Summit planned
The prime minister has called a summit of ministers and the police to talk about how to challenge gun violence. The prime minister has called a summit of ministers and the police this week to talk about how to challenge gun violence.
On Sunday, he told the BBC's Sunday AM programme that US-style surveillance of the private homes of people suspected of having guns or trading them will also be considered. But speaking on BBC One's Sunday AM programme he argued gun violence was not a "general state of British society" and "British young people".
GUN CRIME The number of people injured by firearms in England and Wales has more than doubled since 1998In 2005/2006, the number of gun murders fell by more than a third from 78 to 50There were 11,084 recorded firearms crimes in 2005/2006 - up 0.12% on previous yearLondon, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands account for 54% of recorded incidents Source: Home OfficeGUN CRIME The number of people injured by firearms in England and Wales has more than doubled since 1998In 2005/2006, the number of gun murders fell by more than a third from 78 to 50There were 11,084 recorded firearms crimes in 2005/2006 - up 0.12% on previous yearLondon, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands account for 54% of recorded incidents Source: Home Office
"It is about a specific problem within a specific criminal culture to do with guns and gangs, which doesn't make it any less serious, incidentally, but I think it's important therefore that we address that actual issue".
He said it was about looking at how to "clamp down" on those young people who get into gangs at an early age and use guns.
Mr Blair said US-style surveillance of the homes of people suspected of possessing guns or trading in them will also be considered.
Mr Blair denied the announcements were a "knee-jerk response" to the recent killings.Mr Blair denied the announcements were a "knee-jerk response" to the recent killings.
He said: "There's always a danger of that and you've got to guard against it. And he said it was important to highlight that overall that there was some good news on crime and in particular gun crime.
"That's why it's important to point out that overall there's some good news on crime, and in particular gun crime. Shadow home secretary David Davis welcomed the review but warned: "Yet again we are seeing the prime minister reacting to a headline rather than dealing with the issues in the long-term."
But Mr Blair said that the increasing problem of young people involved in gun crime needed to be addressed with tough measures. "We now have to think what are they going to do for 16-year-olds and 15-year-olds because these gangs won't stop at using younger kids to carry guns, drugs, whatever it may be."
"It is about a specific problem within a specific criminal culture to do with guns and gangs, which doesn't make it any less serious, incidentally, but I think it's important therefore that we address that actual issue. He told Sky News's Sunday Live: "We have got to take some time. Think it through, do it properly."
"How do we make sure that these groups of young people within these specific criminal cultures, who are getting into gangs at an early age and using guns, how do we clamp down on them very hard and provide solutions for that?" Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell said there were "no quick fixes" to the problem.
Responding to Mr Blair's plans, Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell said there were "no quick fixes" to the problem.
"Rather than new laws we need more police and more effective policing," he told BBC News."Rather than new laws we need more police and more effective policing," he told BBC News.
"All young people should feel they have a stake in society - effective schooling, more engaged youth services and better community support are all needed to help young people escape the cycle of deprivation and gang culture.""All young people should feel they have a stake in society - effective schooling, more engaged youth services and better community support are all needed to help young people escape the cycle of deprivation and gang culture."
And Nick Herbert, Tory shadow spokesman for police reform, told the BBC "short-term emergency government announcements" were "no substitute for long-term patient action to rebuild a broken society".
"It's not just tougher laws that are needed but also strong enforcement, with police on our streets, and a new focus on the drivers of gang crime - most of all family breakdown," he added.
Scaremonger warningScaremonger warning
Following the killing in Hackney, police are searching for two black men seen making off towards Digby Road. In Hackney the victim was shot as he got out of a car outside a restaurant in Homerton High Street in the early hours of Saturday. He was pronounced dead at hospital.
Billy Cox was found dying at the family home by his sister
The victim was shot as he went to get out of a grey Fiat Punto outside the Eko restaurant in Homerton High Street at about 0530 GMT on Saturday. He was pronounced dead after being taken to hospital.
On Wednesday, Billy Cox, 15, of Clapham, died from a gunshot wound to the chest, a post-mortem examination has said.On Wednesday, Billy Cox, 15, of Clapham, died from a gunshot wound to the chest, a post-mortem examination has said.
His shooting followed the deaths of James Andre Smartt-Ford, 16, and Michael Dosunmu, 15, who were gunned down in Streatham and Peckham respectively.His shooting followed the deaths of James Andre Smartt-Ford, 16, and Michael Dosunmu, 15, who were gunned down in Streatham and Peckham respectively.
But Cindy Butts, of the Metropolitan Police Authority, warned against "knee-jerk reactions to the problems that we're facing". Cindy Butts, of the Metropolitan Police Authority, warned against "knee-jerk reactions to the problems that we're facing".
"As shocking as these events are, we have had a 16% drop in the number of gun crimes here in London and I think it is important that we don't scaremonger, that we don't blow things out of proportion," she told BBC News."As shocking as these events are, we have had a 16% drop in the number of gun crimes here in London and I think it is important that we don't scaremonger, that we don't blow things out of proportion," she told BBC News.