THE British government is likely to recognise the extent of public anger over the private ownership of guns in the wake of the Dunblane massacre by announcing a ban on almost all handguns today.
In an unexpected move, decided at a two-hour Downing Street meeting yesterday, the government is thought likely to say the vast majority of handguns must be handed in. The exception will be .22 single-shot pistols, which account for less than 10 per cent of handguns held in Britain and which will have to be kept in gun clubs.
The ban will cause outrage among shooting organisations, which have lobbied hard for the interests of their members to be protected. But it will not satisfy Snowdrop, the anti-gun pressure group set up after Dunblane, which will argue that .22s can also kill.
The ban, likely to be announced in the Commons this afternoon, was made at a meeting in Downing Street yesterday chaired by the Prime Minister, Mr John Major, to discuss the government's response to Lord Cullen's public inquiry into the massacre.
Mr Michael Forsyth, the Scottish Secretary, whose Stirling constituency includes Dunblane, was known to be pressing for the handgun ban, while Home Secretary Michael Howard has favoured a less stringent approach. Mr Forsyth had let it be known that he was prepared to resign from the Cabinet if tough action was not taken.
In the event, Mr Forsyth had the support of Mr Major, who is believed to have been disappointed that Lord Cullen himself did not propose a wider ban.
The ban should make Britain one of the most gun-freed countries in the world. The .22-single-shot pistols exempted from the ban are the kind used for Olympic shooting, thought to number around 229,000 of the handguns held in Britain.
Lord Cullen's report, which will be published today, recommends only that handguns be banned from homes, but the government, recognising the extent of public feeling against guns since the massacre, has opted to go much further than that.
The government will find itself outflanked by Labour, which wants to include even .22s in the ban. The Labour leader, Mr Tony Blair, the shadow Home Secretary, Mr Jack Straw, and the shadow Scottish Secretary, Mr George Robertson, met yesterday afternoon to discuss the party' s response to Lord Cullen's report, which they will not see until today.
Labour will claim the government is panicking because it does not want to be seen to be out of step with public opinion. But government sources insisted the deciding factor was the simple argument that a disturbed individual should not have been able to keep powerful handguns in a council house in Dunblane.
The Scottish Secretary will make the first of two Commons statements, setting out the government's general, response to Lord Cullen. He will be followed by Mr Howard, who will announce the changes in the law.
It is likely to be a huge setback to the gun lobby, which has been exerting maximum pressure on politicians for six months in attempt to avoid draconian, action by the government. It will also create trouble with sections of the Tory party, which is traditionally the art of the shooting lobby. Many pistol clubs will almost certainly have to close down.
A Commons motion calling for a complete ban on handguns was being circulated yesterday and gained cross-party support. The Conservative MP Mr Hugh Dykes said they tabled the motion to make sure their feelings were known before ministers made a final decision.