by Deborah Hadfield and Charlie Jacoby
Gary Ivey was returning home from a day’s shooting in October 2021 to his home in Plymouth when one of his daughters rang him to say there were armed police officers at his door. They were there to remove his guns. He didn’t know why – and he still doesn’t. Devon & Somerset Police refuse to say more than there was ‘a complaint against him’.
In 2011, he handed in his guns during his divorce, but he has no idea what other official reason the police would have for suddenly deciding he was not fit to hold firearms. Well, he has one reason – but he would be surprised if the police admitted it. He wrote to his local police & crime commissioner in early October 2021 expressing his fear that the Devon & Cornwall Police would use the Plymouth shootings to crack down on lawful gun owners. The armed police were at his door just a few days later.
Gary is now appealing against the revocation.
Compared to many shooters who have lost their guns in the mass seizure by Devon & Cornwall Constabulary, Gary has a special problem. Because he gave up his guns and certificate voluntarily, his insurance doesn’t cover him. He has instructed solicitors to take Devon & Cornwall Constabulary to court, but he has to cover the costs himself. His advice to shooters is to read BASC’s page on gun seizures: BASC.org.uk/when-the-cops-come-calling
More of our Devon & Cornwall police gun grab coverage:
Police prise open gun safe – the full story
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Breakdown in Devon & Cornwall gun licensing puts businesses at risk
youtu.be/c-VlnQpCK0Q With police firearms licensing across Devon, Cornwall and Dorset in meltdown, local country and gun shops are having to diversify. Martin and Chris Lamb
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youtu.be/EjbfeeA0utk With the firearms licensing system in crisis, barrister Nick Doherty fears there’s an increased risk of a tragic incident. Nick, who wrote The Firearms
BASC firearms licensing overhaul
youtu.be/GCi5JQRX0Sc by Deborah Hadfield It’s time to scrap the existing gun certificate system across England and Wales and replace it with another. That’s the conclusion
The Metropolitan Police’s head of firearms licensing – FieldsportsChannel Podcast, episode 62
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfCT4_dvQQ4 There are 30,000 legal gun-owners in London. Chris Downs, head of SCO 19 at the Met, and Daryn Hufton-Rees from Medcert, which provides medical
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by Deborah Hadfield Daniel Holmes from Bodmin Moor in Cornwall submitted his gun certificates renewal applications on January 2022. His firearms and shotguns certificates were
Gun grab and gun surrender: two extremes of British police gun policy
by Charlie Jacoby You can see the relief on Gary Ivey’s face. Until eight months ago, he had been a firearm certificate holder. He was
Gun licensing shambles in England
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyR1vxdXE6U by Deborah Hadfield The firearms licensing system in England and Wales is in crisis. Shooters claim the fiasco has made getting a grant, renewal,
Police gun grabs: a former Met detective advises…
by Deborah Hadfield and Charlie Jacoby Former Metropolitan police detective Ian Jensen says police have limited legal rights to take a gun. He says: “The
Gun grab victim: a serving police officer writes…
A serving police officer wrote this for Fieldsports News on condition of anonymity I, too, have been duped into coercively handing over my legally and
Police offer compensation to gun grab victim
www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4xkgjLhVB4 by Deborah Hadfield and Charlie Jacoby Many shooters have lost their guns to police in the South-West of England since the shooting in Plymouth
