Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Gun laws to be discussed at Scottish Affairs Committee at Westminster in wake of Skye incident

Skye MP Ian Blackford said the debate over gun laws in the UK should be revisited. Picture by Yui Mok/PA Wire.
Skye MP Ian Blackford said the debate over gun laws in the UK should be revisited. Picture by Yui Mok/PA Wire.

Gun laws are to be looked at by Westminster’s Scottish Affairs Committee in the wake of the Skye attacks that left one man dead and others seriously injured.

It follows a plea by Ian Blackford, the MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber who raised the issue after father-of-six John MacKinnon was killed, while two others were seriously hurt in three separate  attacks on August 10.

A fourth person also needed treatment before being discharged from hospital.

SNP Westminster leader Mr Blackford says it is time to take another look at existing gun laws.

The cross-party Scottish Affairs Committee is to consider the issue to see if any lessons can be learned.

Study current gun laws

Mr Blackford, who represents Ross, Skye and Lochaber, said he had written to the committee asking for them to study current gun laws.

He said: “Firearm regulations are there for a reason and there must be a review of this incident to ensure if any lessons can be learned from it.

Westminster.

“We must carefully examine what improvements can be made – if everybody who has a licence should have one and those that do need one exercise their right responsibly. As far is humanly possible there must be no slipping through the net.

He continued: “These are very controversial topics, and of course, in rural areas we are all aware that there are legitimate applications for people to have guns when it comes to agricultural and sporting matters etc.

“I think it’s right to say that all the agencies, including the police should be pretty strict on the granting of licenses, but given what we have sadly experienced on Skye and Lochalsh, it is right and proper to look at the regulations we have in place – and crucially, if they are strict enough.

“Out of all the firearm licences granted relatively few are ever refused.”

One in 16 people has a gun licence

Across the country, police data shows there were 102,861 gun licences held by individuals as of March this year.

Of these, 25,345 were in the “firearm” category including rifles; 44,503 specifically for shotguns; and 33,013 for air weapons.

In total, this is the equivalent of one permit for every 53 people.

But the 18,960 active gun certificates issued via the police’s Inverness office – serving the Western Isles including Skye, Highland, Orkney and Shetland – amounts to the equivalent of one in 16 people.

The rate – a best estimate, as people can hold licenses in several categories –  is even higher than for offices serving other rural parts of Scotland.

And it’s seven times higher than the one in 116 in the west Central Belt, served by the Glasgow permits office.

Mr Blackford said: “The rate for the Highlands and islands is alarming.

“I think people will be shocked that it is so much higher than the rest of Scotland. What’s more, it probably understates the real level of gun ownership in the rural areas.

“The Highlands and islands figures include Inverness, and gun ownership rates will be lower in towns, and higher in the rural areas.”

Police are responsible for issuing gun licenses to people in Scotland following an assessment. To possess a gun in the UK and Scotland, you must first obtain a firearm or shotgun certificate.

In guidance issued by the Home Office, they claim the UK has some of the toughest gun control measures in the world and that “gun ownership is a privilege, not a right”.

A Home Office spokesman said: “We have recently brought in new statutory guidance for firearms licensing which means police must carry out robust checks on public safety grounds and ensure that these are consistently applied by all police forces so that the people of Britain feel safe in their communities.”

39-year-old Skye man Finlay MacDonald has appeared in court and made no plea to four charges, including one of murdering his brother-in-law, Mr MacKinnon.

Two crowdfunders to help the families affected have topped £75,000 between them.

Conversation