Ban for airgun used in dozens of murders

An airgun that has been illegally converted by criminals to fire a live .22 bullet and used in dozens of murders and shootings is to be banned by the Home Office.

The police have been campaigning for the Brocock pistol to be outlawed. A study by the Forensic Science Service has discovered that 50 unsolved murders and attempted murders were carried out with Brococks. The single-shot airgunhas become particularly popular with crack cocaine dealers who are unable to obtain conventional firearms.

Lord Falconer of Thoroton, a Home Office minister, said it was "unworkable" to ban all replica guns – as police chiefs would prefer – but there was "reason to single out Brocock [weapons]". The ban is expected to be included in forthcoming anti-gun laws that will include a five-year minimum jail term for having a gun in public and a new criminal offence of carrying a replica or blank-firing firearm in public without a good reason. Owners of replica guns that are particularly easy to convert to fire live ammunition will be given a choice of being licensed or handing in their guns.

The National Criminal Intelligence Service has reported that Brococks now account for 35 per cent of all guns recovered by the police. The pistols are imported from Germany and distributed by the Birmingham-based company Brocock, which makes the air cartridge system that powers the airgun pellets. The ME38 Magnum air pistol is the model most frequently used by criminals. The gun retails at about £120. It can be converted illegally for about £70 by fitting steel sleeves inside the chamber.

Detective Chief Superintendent John Coles, head of Operation Trident, the police unit dealing with Yardie-related drug shootings in London, said that about two thirds of the incidents involved replica and converted guns.