WHILE Jack Straw is claiming that unfair lobbying of the Conservative members of the Parliamentary Home Affairs Committee forced them to conclude that there was no rational basis for the banning of handguns, I suggest that it was the Labour members of the committee who were nobbled.

Both Tony Blair and Jack Straw had been rehearsing their respective conference speeches for ages and had both finely honed their facial expressions and body language as part of their acts.

Their speeches included, of course, the emotional bits about the desperate need and Labour party policy to ban the legal ownership of handguns. Imagine both Tony's and Jack's horror when the Home Affairs Committee, after some consideration and debate, could find no rational excuse for banning handguns.

If accepted unanimously, this would mean a major rewrite of speeches and a change to previously stated policy. This was totally unacceptable for both Tony Blair and Jack Straw.

So, the Labour members of the Committee were quietly instructed to vote against the report. And should anyone take the trouble to read the 'Fifth Report of the Home Affairs Committee - Possession of Handguns' (Ref No. 393 - 1 & 2) (available in the local reference library), they are likely to come to the same conclusion.

It was Labour who, for political reasons, pressured members of the Committee to vote against the report.

Local gun collector (name and address supplied).

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