In recent years, the debate surrounding the regulation of blank firing firearms Turkish-manufactured top-venting blank firers (TVBF) in the United Kingdom has intensified. Cheap to import, they are said to be readily (and cheaply) convertible to fire live ammunition making them desirable to acquire for on the black market.
An announcement has now been made by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) that TVBF weapons by Turkish manufacturers are now considered to be readily convertible into lethal barrelled weapons and are therefore illegal to possess.
Criminal use of blank firing guns
Blank firing firearms are an imitation firearm that are unable to fire live ammunition. However, despite their intended use in controlled environments, top venting blank firing guns have garnered attention for their potential to be easily modified into fully functioning firearms.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) recently commissioned an accredited expert to undertake forensic examination of a number of Turkish TVBF’s in Durham Firearms Classification and Examination Laboratory. The findings were that a number of the items tested were ‘readily convertible’ using basic DIY tools and without specialist skills. The recommendation was therefore that a number of the items should be classified as ‘weapons subject to general prohibition’.
The NCA has also found that because these weapons can be easily converted into viable firearms, it is making them attractive to criminals and making the items valuable on the black market.
According to the NCA, converted blank firing weapons have been used in at least four killings over the past two years and police across the country have seized about 800 TVBF’s converted to fire live ammunition since 2021.
National Ballistics Intelligence Service co-ordinator PC Gareth King, of Lincolnshire Police, said:
“The ease at how (sic) these types of weapons can be readily converted into lethal barrelled firearms is alarming. These types of weapons regularly change hands and move around the country for criminal use.”
Illegalisation and the impact of the new classification
The Home Office has therefore announced that TVBF have been reclassified as ‘readily convertible’ within the meaning of Section 1 of the Firearms Act 1982, meaning that they are prohibited under the Firearms Act 1968. TVBF’s that have been reclassified are specifically those manufactured in Turkey by any of the following marques: RETAY, EKOL, CEONIC and BLOW. This means that, TVBF’s may no longer be purchased, acquired, or possessed.
The NPCC have recently held an amnesty during which owners were able to hand these firearms into police stations. The amnesty has run for four weeks from 3 February 2025 across all police forces in England and Wales.
No compensation is to be paid by the government in respect of firearms that are handed over during or before the amnesty on the basis that they have been found to be illegal and contrary to current legislation.
Concerns from forensic experts
Concern has been expressed by scientists that whilst they could follow the legal argument, they were uncomfortable about classifying an unconverted blank firing handgun as a prohibited weapon, as it is not a weapon in its unconverted state.
Forensic scientist Martin Parker, BASC’s Head of Firearms and former Chief Scientist at the National Ballistics Intelligence Service, has provided us with the following comment on this issue:
“The Home Office and NCA have recently announced that certain types of top-venting blank firing guns are readily convertible within the terms of the Firearms Act 1982. Conversions of these guns have been regularly seen used in crime.
There is, however, concern that both the Home Office and NCA believe that an unconverted TVBF gun of the type, now rendered illegal to possess, fulfils the definition of a prohibited weapon as described in Section 5(1) (aba). Possession of such a prohibited weapon carries a five-year mandatory prison sentence. The opinion that an unconverted gun is subject to 5(1) (aba) is not shared by all forensic scientists. There is also a defence under Section 1(5) of the Firearms Act 1982, if one was unaware that the gun was readily convertible. A forensic scientist is bound under Sections 19.3 and 19.4 of the Criminal Procedure Rules to make the defence aware of both these considerations.”
The classification of firearms under UK Firearms legislation can only be carried out by a laboratory or organisation which is accredited by the UK Accreditation Service (UKAS). Any classification of firearms that is not conducted by an accredited laboratory is likely to be ruled inadmissible by a court.
Conclusion
While the Home Office and NCA undoubtedly see the potential for TBVF’s to be a tool of the criminal’s trade, some forensic scientists and lawyers remain uncomfortable with a reclassification which seeks to render such a weapon as subject to s5(1) (aba) with the attendant mandatory minimum five-year prison sentence. The NCA figures relating to seizure of converted TVBF’s might suggest that there are high numbers of these guns in the possession of members of the public and of course because they are not held pursuant to certificate control there is no record of where these items might be such that their owners can readily be alerted. In this context and given the high level of consultations of this type, the relatively limited information issued to highlight the changes, and the short amnesty period there will inevitably be people who do not discover news of these changes until it’s too late. Placing people at risk of such serious consequences may appear inherently unfair.
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