Sajid Javid abandons plans to ban .50-calibre military-grade guns
Sajid Javid has quietly abandoned plans to ban high-powered military-grade rifles after dozens of hard Brexit Conservatives and the DUP came together to voice opposition to the Home Office plan.
The police had wanted to ban .50- or higher-calibre weapons – which can immobilise a vehicle or truck from a mile away – and Labour was ready to support the government to get the ban through parliament despite the Tory rebellion.
But the home secretary has changed his mind amid the lobbying and on Friday put down an amendment to the offensive weapons bill going before the Commons next Wednesday, reversing the ban the government had proposed.
Louise Haigh, Labour’s shadow policing and crime minister, said: “Senior officers have warned the police have no known protection against these destructive weapons and yet ministers have still caved in to their restive backbenchers.”
Sajid Javid abandons plans to ban .50-calibre military-grade guns | World news | The Guardian
