Exclusive:
The Home Office confirmed that new legislation will target criminals who supply or attempt to supply templates and manuals for so-called ‘ghost guns’ made using 3D printers
New laws will be brought in to stop the spread of deadly 3D-printed guns.
Alarm has been raised over the availability of software and online manuals for criminals creating the weapons. New legislation will target those who supply or attempt to supply templates and manuals for so-called “ghost gun” components.
Calls to tighten existing legislation have grown louder after the murder of health insurance boss Brian Thompson in New York using a firearm thought to have been made using a 3D printer. Former Met Police Commissioner Lord Bernard Hogan-Howe this week warned that ministers must get a grip on the spread of the weapons in Britain.
Last year there were 25 cases where officers seized component parts or other items associated with 3D gun printing. Criminologist Professor Peter Squires, from campaign group the Gun Control Network, told The Mirror the issue is “coming out the shadows”.
He said: “The problem with a low gun carrying nation like the UK is it doesn’t take many of them to create a serious crime situation.”
Prof Squires continued: “A really motivated, determined person or group can use this technology.” He said that in Europe various Glock pistols had been picked up with 3D printed elements, and swift developments mean future weapons may be capable of firing more shots.
He said: “I don’t think it’s ever going to be a mass armed situation but it can certainly undermine gun control measures because it’s a way that a determined person can get hold of them.”
Last year police in Finland discovered a four-man far-right cell had used 3D printers to create firearms and gun parts. They planned to use the weapons, which icluded four semi-automic hyprid pistols to carry out racially motivated attacks.
Earlier this week peers voiced their alarm that manuals showing how to create 3D printed guns online. And ministers heard calls to outlaw software used by criminals.
Lord Hogan-Howe said failing to act would cause a “serious situation”. The matter was raised following the murder of UnitedHealthcare chief executive Mr Thompson with a gun thought to be made with a 3D printer.
These privately-made firearms are known as “ghost guns” because they are nearly impossible to trace. A Home Office spokesman told The Mirror: “We will introduce new laws to criminalise owning with the intention to be used for crime, supplying and offering to supply templates or manuals for 3D printed firearms components.
“A 3D printed firearm is subject to the law in the same way as any other firearm. The maximum penalty for possessing a prohibited weapon is ten years imprisonment, with a minimum penalty of five years.”