BorisJohnsonandJeremyHunt tellCountrysideAlliance theysupport
gunownership — but their views varyon whetherchangeis needed
T
hecandidatesto
beConservative
leaderandprime
ministerhavetoldthe
CountrysideAlliancewherethey
standona rangeofrural and
fieldsportsissues.
BorisJohnsonandJeremy
Huntansweredquestionson
issuesfromruralbroadbandto
thegenerallicences,withboth
committingtodelivera Brexit
thatworksforruralcommunities.
Withconcernsincreasing
overfirearmslicensing,the
condenterswereaskedif they
wouldensuretherewere“no
unduerestrictionsonlegitimate
gunownershipanduse”.MrHunt
saidhe“wouldn’tintroduce any
unduerestrictions”.
However,MrJohnson,who
is leadingMrHuntintheopinion
pollsbya hugemargin,tooka
different line, saying: “We rightly
havesomeofthestrictestgun
lawsintheworld.I believethat
legitimateownershipanduse
shouldcomewithrobustlevels
ofresponsibility,too.”
Hedidnotcommittokeeping
thecurrentregimeintact,instead
sayingthat“changing these laws
isnota priority”.
MrHuntappearedtogive
a stronger commitment to
protectingthecurrent general
licenceregime.
Thecandidateswereasked
to“confirmtherewillbeno
unjustifiedrestrictionsonthe
listofavianpests,including
thosespeciescontrolled
toprotectcrops,livestock,
andbiodiversity”.
MrHunttoldtheAlliance:
“I wouldn’tintroduceany
unjustifiedrestrictionsinthis
areaandampleasedthatMichael
Govehasdecidedtoissuethree
newgenerallicencesforthe
killingortakingofwild pest
birdsinEngland.”
MrJohnson,however,
wasonlywillingtosay:“As
withanywildlifeissue,the
government’spositionwillbe
drivenbythehighestquality
independentevidence.”
Thecandidateswereinbroad
agreementovertheissueofthe
EuropeanFirearmsPass,which
allowsownerstotransport guns
throughoutEurope.
MrHuntsaid:“Thatis
certainlysomethingI willmake
part of the discussions and it
is intheinterestsofall
participatingstatestocome
toa sensibleagreement.”
MrJohnsonsaid:“I willbe
aimingtoensurewehavea trade
dealthatminimisesfrictionon
thecross-bordertransferof
goods,whileensuringthatour
borderis secureandprotectsUK
citizens.I willbehappytodiscuss
specific concerns as we strike
t h a t d e a l .”
Matt Cross
S.YOUNG
/H.
HUNT
/P.
QUAGLIANA / J. MACTAVISH / ALAMY
JeremyHuntandBoris
Johnsonoffereddiffering
opinions on licensing
“Legitimateownershipanduse
shouldcomewithrobust levels
of responsibility, too”
Leadership hopefuls state
their case on gun licensing
6 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE
NEWS
JeremyHuntwouldimposeno
“undue restrictions on gun use”
BorisJohnsonwantstosee
“independent evidence”