Latest news with #KellyFitzgibbons
Daily Record
6 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Record
Tighter reforms on who can own firearms keep us all safe
Labour today confirmed new laws that people will need two referees to apply to own a shotgun rather than one. In Scotland, we know only too well the catastrophic consequences of firearms falling into the hands of violent and unstable individuals. Next year will mark the 30th anniversary of the Dunblane massacre, a shattering event which remains imprinted on the national psyche. It was in response to the tragedy that three mums got together to launch the Snowdrop campaign, which eventually led to the banning of all privately owned handguns in the UK in 1997. Many people assume those reforms were passed with cross-party support. They were not. The Tories at the time branded the ban on handguns as an attack on civil liberties. The reforms to gun licensing announced by Labour today are welcome. Gun ownership in the UK is not a right. It's in all our interests that those who own guns for legitimate purposes are fit and proper individuals. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Under the new laws, people will need two referees to apply to own a shotgun rather than one. Police will also be ordered to speak to partners and household members to identify signs of domestic abuse or any other factors which could indicate that the applicant isn't suitable to have a firearms licence. Campaigner Emma Ambler has been pushing for the change since her twin sister, Kelly Fitzgibbons, and her two nieces were murdered in 2020 by Kelly's partner with a legally-owned weapon, despite him being a domestic abuser. Guns are a fact of life in some professions. But those who use them must be scrutinised. And they must never, ever again fall in to the hands of evil killers like Thomas Hamilton. Reverse cop cuts The SNP swept to power in 2007 on a promise to protect police numbers. But now frontline cops claim staffing numbers are too low and the public are starting to feel the effects. Figures published today reveal that the overtime costs for officers have increased in the last year. With cops being drafted in to help with policing US President Trump's trip to Scotland, insiders believe the figure will rise again. In practice, this means our over-stretched police force is having to work longer hours to keep Scots safe. It means a tired workforce is being run ragged – to the detriment of everyone. SNP ministers must ensure that Police Scotland has the resources needed to do its job. Top of the list is reversing the cut to police officer numbers, which is coinciding with a rise in overtime. Police Scotland is another service that is at breaking point.
BBC News
6 days ago
- BBC News
'Tighter gun restrictions make me feel hopeful', says bereaved twin
A Birmingham woman whose twin sister and two nieces were shot dead with a legally held weapon has said she believes "voices have been heard", as tighter control on firearms licensing come into law. Emma Ambler has campaigned for stricter laws around gun licensing since her sister, Kelly Fitzgibbons, and her two nieces, Ava and Lexi Needham, were murdered at their West Sussex home in 2020 by Kelly's changes include an increase in the number of references needed for shotgun certificate applications."It's the first time I've seen some changes that mean something," said Ms Ambler. "This has taken over a lot of my life for a long time," she said. "But to know that, actually, this hasn't all been wasted time and people are listening now, that the policy and the guidance isn't strong enough... it does need to be strengthened, and they're working that direction, was quite a moment actually."Robert Needham, Ms Fitzgibbons' partner and father of father of Ava and Lexi, shot dead the three of them along with the family dog, at their home in Woodmancote, before turning the gun on himself.A domestic homicide review found he had lied on his shotgun application to police about previous convictions and treatment for 5 August, people applying for shotgun certificate applications will need two referees instead of need to have known the applicant well for at least two years and will need to vouch for them - which the Home Office said would ensure there was greater opportunity for concerns to be raised or identified. "I don't want any other family to go though what we've been through ever, but particularly if it can be preventable in some way," said Ms Ambler."It's become a real mission for me to make sure that what happened to Kelly doesn't happen to anyone else."She told the BBC that she was hopeful, and the changes had made her emotional. What is changing? The rule change over the number of referees was a direct response to concerns raised by the senior coroner who held the inquests following the fatal shootings in Plymouth in 2021, the Home Office said. Jake Davison shot his mother and four others before killing himself. Under the new rules, police must now speak to partners and members of households to identify signs of domestic abuse, as well as other factors that could indicate the applicant is not suitable to have a licence. Additional checks must be carried out to ensure people with a record of violence are not allowed to access of dishonesty, as well as questions about their integrity will also have an effect - if someone lies on their application or does not disclose medical conditions, it will bring their suitability to hold a gun into Minister Dame Diana Johnson said: "Only those who meet the highest standards of safety and responsibility should be permitted to use shotguns or firearms, and it is crucial that police have full information about the suitability of all applicants for these lethal weapons." "The first thing Emma did for me, was she educated me on what the gun licensing laws were currently," said Jess Phillips, safeguarding minister and Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley."She told me that there was nothing about the issue of dishonesty... it had been proven in her sister's case that he [Robert Needham] had lied – that is another thing that we've updated in the guidance."Where there has been dishonesty in the form-filling, that should stand against you having a licence, which I think is basic."She said the updates to the guidance were a product of listening to people like Ms Ambler, and learning from the outcomes in cases like the Plymouth shootings and a series of shootings in the Scottish Highlands. Government to strengthen guidance further "Previously, even if it had been found that somebody had lied on a form, even about what their address is... that wouldn't stand against you, and now the guidance is clear in that," said Phillips."It is impossible to prove, one way or another, that he [Needham] wouldn't have gone out and found other means."But certainly, if these changes had been in place, he wouldn't have been able to hold a gun licence and he wouldn't have been able to kill so quickly and at will so many people. Of that I am sure," she Home Office said it planned to strengthen guidance further, in light of weaknesses exposed by the shootings of Juliana Falcon and two of her children in Luton in September son, Nicholas, had bought the gun fraudulently said the government would be consulting on measures to strengthen existing controls on shotguns and seeking views on ways to improve controls on the private sales of firearms. Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
04-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Review into sister's killing in Woodmancote was 'waste of time'
A woman whose sister and nieces were killed in West Sussex has called a review into their deaths "triggering", incredibly draining" and a "waste of time".Emma Ambler's twin sister Kelly Fitzgibbons, 40, and nieces Ava and Lexi Needham, aged four and two, were shot dead in Woodmancote in 2020 by Robert Needham, Ms Fitzgibbons' partner and father of the girls. He then turned the gun on himself. It comes as BBC research suggests just 1% of reviews into domestic abuse-related deaths are being completed in the recommended Phillips, minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, said more needed to be done to ensure the process was "effective and timely". Home Office guidance says these reviews, which make recommendations to help prevent people being killed by partners or family members, should be finished within six BBC analysis has found most are taking years. A domestic homicide review (DHR) into the death of Ms Fitzgibbons and her daughters was published in 2024, over four years after their deaths. It revealed Needham lied on his shotgun application to police about previous convictions and treatment for Ambler welcomed the review, which made a number of recommendations regarding the gun-licensing she said she now felt that "nothing's changed". "It took over four years for Kelly's review to be published and it's not made one bit of difference," she said."I think they're just filed on a shelf, and nobody takes any notice of them."Ms Ambler is one of a number of bereaved families the BBC has spoken to who have criticised the length of time the reviews take. Every domestic killing or suicide involving people aged 16 and over in England and Wales is subject to a DHR, recently renamed as a domestic abuse-related death review (DARDR).They examine the role of professionals who had contact with the victim or the perpetrator before an attack, but do not issue blame. More than 1,200 reviews have been carried out since their introduction in 2011, according to Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse, a charity which supports families affected by domestic analysis of all reviews in a government library, dating back to 2011, found almost every review was taking longer than it was supposed to. Of the 495 with sufficient data:Only seven were finished within the six-month timeframeOne in six took more than two years to be completedIn the south-east of England, where Kelly, Ava and Lexi were killed, 100% of reviews were not completed within the six-month timeframeReasons given for the delays include the complexities of a police investigation or court proceedings, contact with family members or others to enable them to contribute to the review and safety partnership meetings. If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this story, support and advice is available via BBC Action Line Phillips said the reviews were "a really important opportunity for agencies on a local and national level to consider each individual victim, improve their safeguarding practices and ultimately prevent these deaths from happening in the first place"."Every death related to domestic abuse is a devastating tragedy and should not be overlooked," she accepted that more needed to be done to ensure the process was "effective and timely" and that the government was creating a new oversight board with publicly appointed members to make the process of reviewing reports faster.A Home Office consultation last year suggested increasing the timeframe to complete a review from six to 12 months - but no change has yet been with the extension, BBC analysis suggests most would still miss the deadline - only 18% of the reviews were completed within one year. Prof Jane Monckton-Smith, a criminologist specialising in domestic homicide who has chaired several reviews, said when done properly they could bring about real change."They have been absolutely crucial in building our knowledge of intimate partner homicides, domestic homicides and suicides," she she said they could be improved by having fewer people involved and having a chairperson to run the process.
