Weapons should be banned

Our lead story today offers chilling evidence that these "unusable" weapons are being reactivated with potentially deadly results.

In Greater Manchester last year police seized 14 machine guns and of those 13 had been reactivated. It is a terrifying statistic.

With frightening ease, a representative of the BEN bought a deactivated assault rifle for £180 from an "army surplus" shop.

Labour MP Terry Lewis has called for a ban on the sale not only of deactivated weapons, but also of replica weapons.

While many people will fully support Mr Lewis, we believe that a ban on the sale of replica weapons is unnecessary. They can never be fired.

Just as collecting models of military hardware such as fighter aircraft and infantrymen brings pleaure to schoolboys and enthusiasts, so does the collection of replica classic weapons.

Occasionally, replicas are used by criminals to frighten victims but they are actually less harmful than a common penknife.

But deactivated guns are potentially lethal weapons. If they are not destroyed, they should be kept locked in display cases in museums. Certainly, they should not be on public sale.

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