Gun Laws: A Sister’s Fight For Stricter Controls

A Sister’s Vow: How Tragedy Is Reshaping Britain's Gun Laws

A succession of devastating tragedies has forced a reckoning with the United Kingdom's firearms laws, long considered among the world's most stringent. Spurred by the relentless campaigning of those who have lost loved ones, the government has rolled out significant changes to the licensing system. These reforms target critical vulnerabilities revealed by killings in quiet villages and busy towns alike. These fresh regulations are intended to prevent unsuitable individuals from legally acquiring lethal weapons. At the heart of this drive for change is a promise made by a woman who lost her family, a vow that no one else should suffer the same preventable fate. This is the story of how her grief, amplified by other catastrophic events, is reshaping public safety.

A Family Destroyed

In March 2020, just as the country entered its first lockdown, a terrible event unfolded in the West Sussex village of Woodmancote. Robert Needham, a 42-year-old construction worker, used a legally owned shotgun to murder his partner, Kelly Fitzgibbons, 40. He also killed their two young daughters, four-year-old Ava and two-year-old Lexi. After killing his family and their dog, Needham turned the weapon on himself. The incident sent shockwaves through the community, leaving friends and relatives searching for answers. How could a man responsible for such violence have been deemed fit to possess a firearm? The question would ignite a years-long campaign for reform, led by Kelly's devoted twin sister.

The Campaigner’s Vow

Emma Ambler's life was irrevocably altered by the loss of her twin and nieces. In her grief, she discovered a powerful purpose: to overhaul the country's firearms licensing rules. Ms. Ambler established the Kelly Fitzgibbons Foundation to channel her efforts and provide a voice for victims. She quickly identified serious flaws in the system that had allowed Needham to arm himself. Her mission became a real crusade to ensure the tragedy that befell her sister would not be repeated. She has expressed that this cause consumed a significant portion of her existence. The recent changes have, for the initial instance, made her feel that her voice, and the voices of other victims, are being heeded.

Image Credit - DW

A System of Failures

The inquest into the Woodmancote deaths exposed alarming failures by police. Needham had obtained his shotgun certificate in 2016 from Sussex Police, after beginning the process with the Hampshire force. An investigation revealed that Needham had been untruthful on his application paperwork. He failed to disclose a police caution for bicycle theft and, crucially, a past history of care for depression. During the application process, a firearms enquiry officer discovered the lie about the caution. Needham claimed his partner had filled out the form and was unaware of it, a claim Ms. Ambler disputes. Despite the dishonesty, the process continued. A warning letter was recommended but never sent due to the handover between the two police forces.

Medical Red Flags Ignored

Further investigation into Robert Needham's past revealed significant mental health concerns that the licensing system failed to address. His application did not mention his recurring episodes of depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts. During the 2016 application, his GP surgery was unable to provide an opinion on his suitability to own a firearm, citing a lack of capacity to do so. Incredibly, the licence was granted without this crucial medical input. A senior officer from Sussex Police later admitted at the inquest that, under today's rules, Needham's application would not have been approved. This gap highlighted the urgent need for mandatory and robust medical checks for all applicants.

A Sister's Call for Basic Changes

Through her foundation, Emma Ambler articulated a chain of clear, actionable demands for reform. She argued that any dishonesty on an application should lead to an automatic refusal. This was a direct reaction to the failings in Needham's case. Furthermore, she insisted that people with documented mental health issues or recurring depression should be barred from holding licences. Ms. Ambler also pointed out the absurdly low cost of a licence, noting it was cheaper than a fishing permit and was effectively subsidised by the taxpayer. She called for a significant fee increase to fund more thorough and rigorous background checks by police forces.

Political Allies and New Hope

Emma Ambler’s determined campaign caught the attention of politicians, including the Safeguarding Minister, Jess Phillips. The Birmingham Yardley MP credited Ms. Ambler with educating her on the specific failings of the existing laws. Ms. Phillips noted the guidance was updated specifically because of cases like Needham's, where proven dishonesty had no real consequences for the application. She stated that providing false information on an application should fundamentally stand against an individual securing a permit, calling it a basic principle. This political support, combined with growing public awareness, created momentum for genuine change. For Ms. Ambler, seeing these arguments adopted into policy was a powerful, emotional moment of validation.

The New Rules of Engagement

In response to the mounting pressure, the Home Office has put in place new statutory guidance for police forces, which came into effect on August 5th. One of the most significant changes is that applicants for a shotgun certificate now require two referees, not just one, bringing the rules in line with other firearms. The Home Office stated this would provide more of a chance for issues to be identified. Referees must be acquainted with the candidate for a minimum two-year period and are expected to endorse their character. This reform directly addresses fears that applicants could simply find a single compliant acquaintance to support their request.

Tackling Domestic Abuse

Another critical element of the new guidance is a direct focus on domestic abuse. Police are now required to speak with an applicant's partner or other family members living in the same household. This measure aims to recognize indicators of coercive control, violence, or other behaviours that would make an individual unsuitable to possess a weapon. This change was prompted not only by the Woodmancote case but by a wider recognition that firearms in the hands of domestic abusers present a grave danger. Campaigners had long argued that a person’s family often holds the most crucial information about their temperament and potential for violence.

Dishonesty Now Carries Weight

Under the strengthened regulations, proof of deceit or a lack of integrity will have a significant impact on an application. If an individual is found to have been untruthful on their form or deliberately withheld relevant information, such as health issues, it will cast doubt on their fitness to have a firearm. This is a direct legacy of the campaigns by Emma Ambler and others, who were horrified that a proven lie on an official application was not enough to disqualify someone from owning a lethal weapon. The new guidance empowers police to refuse licences on character grounds, not just criminal records.

The Shadow of Plymouth

The reforms were also shaped by another, even deadlier, mass shooting. In August 2021, Jake Davison, a 22-year-old apprentice crane operator in Plymouth, murdered five people before taking his own life. His victims included his own mother, a three-year-old girl and her father, and two other local residents. The weapon he used was a pump-action shotgun that he was licensed to own. The inquest into the deaths uncovered what jurors described as "catastrophic" failings in the licensing system, concluding the deaths occurred because the perpetrator had a lawfully held shotgun. The findings sent a shockwave through the government and police forces.

 Image Credit - U.S. News

A Licence Returned

The details of the Plymouth case were damning. Davison had a history of violent behaviour and an obsession with incel culture. In 2020, his shotgun and certificate were seized by Devon and Cornwall Police after he violently assaulted two teenagers in a park. However, just one month before his killing spree, the police returned his weapon and licence to him. He was assessed as "low risk" by the force's firearms unit. An expert later told the inquest that Davison should never have been granted a licence in the first place and that it was a grave error to return the weapon after it had been seized following a violent act.

Coroner’s Demands for Action

The senior coroner who oversaw the Plymouth inquests made a string of urgent recommendations to the Home Office. The new guidance on referees and domestic abuse checks is a direct result of these findings. The coroner, in addition to the victims' families, highlighted the lack of a national accredited training programme for police firearms licensing staff, a recommendation made decades earlier after the Dunblane massacre but never fully implemented. The inquest jury found that budget limitations and staff shortages had contributed to unsafe licences being issued, not just in Devon and Cornwall, but nationally.

Violence in the Highlands

A third tragedy within the Scottish Highlands added to the pressure for a consistent, UK-wide approach to reform. In August 2022, Finlay MacDonald used a legally owned shotgun in a violent rampage across the Isle of Skye and Wester Ross. He murdered his brother-in-law, John MacKinnon, and attempted to kill three other people, including his own wife. MacDonald was a member of a local clay pigeon shooting club and had legally purchased six shotguns and over a thousand cartridges. The case raised immediate questions about how someone with a known propensity for violence could accumulate such an arsenal.

 Image Credit - CTGN

A Centralised System Questioned

The Skye shooting highlighted specific concerns about Scotland's centralised firearms licensing system. A former head of the Scottish Police Federation argued that the move away from local policing had created dangerous gaps. Previously, local beat officers would conduct firearms checks, allowing them to use their community knowledge to spot red flags or pick up on "throw-away remarks" from neighbours. He claimed that a specialist officer visiting from a central unit is less likely to have this crucial local intelligence. It also emerged that MacDonald's own siblings were not aware that he had applied for or possessed a firearms licence, raising serious questions about the referee selection process.

The Threat of Online Fraud

While many reforms have focused on the application process, a horrific case in Luton exposed a different vulnerability: fraud. In September 2024, 19-year-old Nicholas Prosper murdered his mother Juliana Falcon, his 16-year-old brother Kyle, and his 13-year-old sister Giselle. He had purchased the shotgun used in the killings from a registered firearms dealer less than 24 hours earlier. He did so by using a forged firearms certificate. The case revealed that a determined individual could bypass the entire vetting system by creating a convincing counterfeit document, acquiring a deadly weapon with no background checks whatsoever.

A Wider Plot Averted

The Luton tragedy was almost much worse. After killing his family, Prosper was planning a mass shooting at his former primary school. His mother's intervention, during which she discovered the weapon and confronted him, alerted neighbours and ultimately foiled his wider plot. Police arrested him shortly after he fled the family's flat. This case, involving a fraudulent purchase, spurred the Home Office to announce a future consultation aimed at strengthening controls on private firearm sales and tackling the online trade in weapons and forged documents. It demonstrated that even the most robust vetting is useless if the system can be circumvented entirely.

The Government Responds

Speaking on the new changes, Policing Minister Dame Diana Johnson stated that only those meeting the most stringent criteria should be permitted to use firearms. She said it is "essential that law enforcement has comprehensive details regarding the fitness of all candidates." She acknowledged that the events in Woodmancote and Plymouth were tragic reminders of what can happen when weapons fall into the wrong hands. The government has also provided funding to the College of Policing to develop a new, mandatory national training curriculum for all firearms licensing staff, finally addressing the long-standing recommendations from the Plymouth and Dunblane inquests.

A Privilege, Not a Right

For Emma Ambler, the new guidance is a significant step forward, but the journey is not over. She maintains her belief that "possessing a firearms permit is a privilege and not a right." While she welcomes the changes, she believes there is still more to do to protect the public. The reforms represent a clear shift in attitude, placing a greater onus on police to proactively investigate an applicant's character and home life, rather than simply processing paperwork. The tragedies that forced these changes have left indelible scars on families and communities across the country. The hope is that the lessons learned will be enough to prevent more from having to endure the same pain.