DEADLY rapid-fire machine pistols can be hired in Manchester pubs at a few minutes notice, a Bolton MP claims. Tom Sackville, MP for Bolton West and a Home Office Minister, claims the drugs-violence scenes in the latest offering from TV's Prime Suspect were tame compared to the real life underworld violence of the guns and drugs culture of our cities. And he says the only way to try and stamp it out is for a total ban on hand guns.

Mr Sackville's comments came as he welcomed tough gun laws, which he said would help tackle Manchester's alarming record of gang war violence.

He says a total ban on hand guns in the home - except for "unexciting" small bore target weapons - will attempt to solve the "frightening problem".

Mr Sackville said: "Many of our cities are being taken over by drug gangs."

He said he had been told that anyone could hire an Uzi machine pistol for the night within a matter of minutes.

He said:"The more powerful and aggressive the weapon - the greater demand.

"The only way of ensuring that guns in legal private ownership do not continue to leak into and supplement the growing arsenal in the hands of criminals, we need to get rid of them all, except perhaps the small number of relatively unexciting small bore weapons used for serious target events."

Mr Sackville said today: "Drugs and guns go hand in hand. I have been calling for some years for a crackdown on drugs and guns and the Dunblane tragedy has started this action.

"We have to ensure that we don't end up in anarchy and the new gun laws proposed by the government are a step forward."

Mr Sackville said he accepted that the measures would probably see the end of small-time gun clubs who would be hit with huge security bills.

"Gun clubs will have to foot the bill for their own security measures and many will not be able to survive," Mr Sackville added.

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