Letters

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PLYMOUTH TRAGEDY

I am sure Field readers were appalled at the recent tragic events in Plymouth. Once the initial shock had subsided, I began to wonder how soon it would be before the usual anti-shooting lobby began pressing for tighter gun control – or worse. One retired senior police officer, whom I heard on the radio, said that no private individual, apart from the police and the military, should hold any sort of firearm.

The fact that this individual had mental health problems, which were known about, and had had his licence revoked previously (before being returned by the local police), means that this was a failure of implementing current legislation rather than the need for any new system. No doubt this is yet another example of police underfunding and under-resourcing.

London recently experienced it’s 49th fatal stabbing this year, but few people seem to be pressing for greater knife control. Almost 1,600 people died on Britain’s roads last year, and about 22,000 were seriously injured.

Many shooting men and women will be aware of more