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Blair to hold summit on gun crime Blair to hold summit on gun crime
(about 2 hours later)
Tony Blair is due to host a gun crime summit at Downing Street, following a recent spate of fatal shootings.Tony Blair is due to host a gun crime summit at Downing Street, following a recent spate of fatal shootings.
The prime minister and Home Secretary John Reid are expected to meet police, council leaders and community workers.The prime minister and Home Secretary John Reid are expected to meet police, council leaders and community workers.
Conservative leader David Cameron, who is visiting a community project in Manchester, questioned if the summit would "get to grips with the issue".
Five people have been shot dead in London during the last month - three of them teenagers.
'Respecting authority'
Mr Blair has suggested the minimum age at which someone faces a mandatory five-year jail sentence for possessing a gun could be reduced from 21 to 17.Mr Blair has suggested the minimum age at which someone faces a mandatory five-year jail sentence for possessing a gun could be reduced from 21 to 17.
Four people have been shot dead in London during the last month - three of them teenagers. And the prime minister has told the BBC he is considering criminalising gang membership, insisting that gun crime was "a specific problem within a specific criminal culture".
'Specific problem' He denied his announcements were a "knee-jerk response" to the recent killings.
Mr Blair has told the BBC he is considering criminalising gang membership and how to protect people giving evidence.
But he insisted that gun crime was "a specific problem within a specific criminal culture".
There have been four fatal shootings in London this month, three of which were of teenagers in the south of the city - two of them killed in their own homes.
A 28-year-old man was shot dead in Hackney, east London.
GUN CRIME The number of people injured by firearms in England and Wales has more than doubled since 1998In 2005/2006, the number of gun murders fell by more than a third from 78 to 50There were 11,084 recorded firearms crimes in 2005/2006 - up 0.12% on previous yearLondon, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands account for 54% of recorded incidents Source: Home OfficeGUN CRIME The number of people injured by firearms in England and Wales has more than doubled since 1998In 2005/2006, the number of gun murders fell by more than a third from 78 to 50There were 11,084 recorded firearms crimes in 2005/2006 - up 0.12% on previous yearLondon, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands account for 54% of recorded incidents Source: Home Office
Mr Cameron said he hoped the summit was real, and not just a photograph opportunity.
He suggested a recent cancer summit held at Downing Street had yielded little.
"Tony Blair welcomed everyone, shook their hands, had his photograph taken. Half an hour later he had gone.
"Now, let's hope [the gun crime summit] is a proper summit. That they do get to grips with the issues."
Mr Cameron has argued that a lack of role models was fuelling gang culture and called for fathers to be compelled to take a greater role in bringing up their children.
He supports the idea of tax breaks to help families stay together and promoting a "culture of responsibility and respecting authority".
Facing responsibilities
Mr Reid, who visited south London on Wednesday, said the police could not tackle gun crime by themselves.Mr Reid, who visited south London on Wednesday, said the police could not tackle gun crime by themselves.
"If we truly want a no-gun Britain, a no-gun country, then we all have to work together," he said."If we truly want a no-gun Britain, a no-gun country, then we all have to work together," he said.
"Not just the police, not just more powers, but parents and people in the local communities facing their responsibilities.""Not just the police, not just more powers, but parents and people in the local communities facing their responsibilities."
Mr Blair denied his announcements were a "knee-jerk response" to the recent killings.
Last week, Conservative leader David Cameron called for fathers to be compelled to take a greater role in bringing up their children.
He argued that a lack of role models was fuelling gang culture.
Mr Cameron said he backed tax breaks to help families stay together and promoting a "culture of responsibility and respecting authority".
Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell said there were "no quick fixes" to the problem.Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell said there were "no quick fixes" to the problem.
Meanwhile, Christian leaders are organising a "prayer walk" through the two London boroughs blighted by recent killings - Southwark and Lambeth. There have been five fatal shootings in London in the past month, three of which were of teenagers in the south of the city - two of them killed in their own homes.
They say the walk, to take place later, will demonstrate the "total abhorrence of the vast majority of black Londoners to gun violence". A 28-year-old man was shot dead in Hackney, east London.
Christian leaders are organising a "prayer walk" through the two London boroughs blighted by recent killings - Southwark and Lambeth.
They say the walk, to take place at dusk on Thursday, will demonstrate the "total abhorrence of the vast majority of black Londoners to gun violence".