Keith Weston

During the course of the inquest, evidence was heard from a Detective Inspector with North Yorkshire Police who is a Firearms Licensing Manager. The evidence was that, unlike standard police prosecutions, prosecutions of individuals by other authorities do not involve automatic checks of the Police National Computer which would flag whether that individual is licensed to possess a firearm. The appearance of such an alert allows the firearms licensing authority to assess the individual’s continuing suitability to possess a firearm in the context of the prosecution and its possible outcomes. In this instance, the deceased was being prosecuted for tax fraud by HMRC and was due to make a court appearance on the day of his death. He left a note of intent, indicating that the prosecution and its likely outcome were central to his decision to end his life. Had it been flagged that the deceased was facing such a prosecution, I was informed that it was OFFICIAL 'highly likely' that his access to licensed firearms would have been restricted and the weapons removed from him in accordance with statutory guidance. While it cannot be said that this would have prevented the deceased's death by his own hand from some other means, it would have prevented the unlawful discharge of the weapon as a means of suicide. I understand that this issue has been escalated to the NPCC Lead for firearms licensing with a view to highlighting the concern with all non-police prosecuting authorities. I also understand that the HMRC investigator did not respond to the officer's contact with the agency to flag this issue. I am writing to HMRC to draw this concern to its attention and to invite it to respond directly, as well as to engage with the NPCC in this regard.