Sunday Telegraph
ISSUE 1906 Sunday 13 August 2000
Gun ban threatens British Games prospects
By David Bamber Home Affairs Correspondent
BRITISH shooters are threatening to boycott the 2002
Commonwealth Games in Manchester because the Government's
ban on handguns prevents them practising.
They claim the ban puts them at a severe disadvantage to
foreign rivals, who are able to hone their skills freely
on shooting ranges. In the run-up to the Games, they are
asking Jack Straw, the Home Secretary, to use his
ministerial powers to give British team members special
permission to use their guns.
Mr Straw has already agreed that the ban, introduced in
1996 after the Dunblane massacre, when 16 children and
a teacher were killed by the gunman Thomas Hamilton,
should be eased during the Games after a warning that
shooting events would be ruined. Under Mr Straw's
concession, weapons which are currently illegal in
Britain will be allowed into the country under strict
control.
John Leighton-Dyson, the coach of the British shooting
team, warned that the move would have little benefit
for domestic shooters who have not been allowed to
practise. Currently, leading British pistol shooters
practise just 20 days a year at a special range in
Switzerland. One prominent British shooter, Iqbal Ubhi,
has said that the British team could have been capable
of a gold medal in the free pistol category at the
Sydney Olympics next month.
The ban on handguns, and the consequent restrictions on
practice, means this is now unlikely. Lack of practise
over the past three years, and the withdrawal of many
leading shooters following the ban, means the team is
below strength. Until last month, enthusiasts feared
that pistol events would be dropped from the Commonwealth
Games because of the ban.
To prevent this, the Home Office is planning to allow
competitors to hand guns into Customs on arrival in
England. These will then be transported by police to
the venue at Bisley, Surrey. Competitors will not be
allowed to touch their firearms until they are inside
the centre and will not be allowed to take them off
the premises.
Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org
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