Countryside Alliance statement on proposed changes to firearms regulation

Tim Bonner, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, said: "The European Commission has today announced that it will be amending the Firearms Directive to make it more difficult to acquire firearms, including deactivated firearms, with the aim of improving traceability and stronger co-operation between member states.

"However, the Countryside Alliance is concerned that at least some of the proposals seem to have little to do with addressing the horrific acts of terrorism in Paris and will simply create additional unnecessary burdens for national police forces and legal firearm holders.

"Many of the recommendations are sensible and show where improvements can be made, however, others appear to be hastily made decisions which could back fire on the legal firearm holders of the UK.

"The UK is world renowned for its strict firearms licensing laws and we lead on many of the issues which the EU Commission is discussing, such as deactivation and standardised marking. However, some of these proposals would seem unlikely to have an effect on terrorist activity.

"We strongly believe that the way forward is a separate directive dealing with terrorism and military arms, not amending the firearms directive. If, though, the Commission is determined to push forward with amendments they must be clearly aimed at the increasing threat of terrorism and illegal trafficking,."