The West Country Debate February: Gun control, NHS strikes and Ukraine anniversary

Devon and Cornwall Police's failures were exposed this week as an inquest concluded five people were unlawfully killed in Plymouth in 2021 by a lone gunman.

The force was criticised for giving a man with a violent past a weapon twice - raising questions about gun licensing laws in this country.

On the panel this month:

  • Selaine Saxby MP - Conservative MP for North Devon

  • Richard Foord MP - Liberal Democrat MP for Tiverton and Honiton

  • Heidi Alexander - Labour candidate for Swindon South and former Shadow Health Secretary

Gun Control

There are growing calls for stricter gun laws following the inquest into the deaths of Lee Martyn, his 3-year-old daughter Sophie, Maxine Davison, Kate Shepherd and Stephen Washington.

They were killed by a licensed gunman with a history of violence in Plymouth in August 2021.

Some of the victims' families said in a statement after the verdict that warning signs were "ignored" and "a licence to kill was granted".

According to the latest figures, there are more than 67,000 licensed shotguns in Devon and Cornwall's police force area.

Selaine Saxby MP says the reason for the high number of gun licenses in Devon is due to the rural nature of the county - shotguns used on remote farms and on shoots. But she says something must change in the wake of the Keyham tragedy.

Ms Saxby said: "I think it's clear something has to be done. Serious errors were made and we do need to make sure that the backlog of people waiting to renew (their gun licenses) is tackled.

"We know there are people taking the law literally into their own hands because they can't get renewed who are honest people. The police need some help and assistance to catch up and do it thoroughly enough so instances (like Keyham) don't happen again."

Richard Foord MP said: "What we need to think about is the processes, the vetting. Why were there failings in this case? For instance, we must have the GP talking to the people responsible for issuing the licenses. There should be markers on people's health records."

Heidi Alexander said: "What I would want us to look at are the links between medical professionals and the gun licensing authority... It should also be a discussion if someone's heath deteriorates, if they are becoming more violent, if there are mental health problems."

NHS strikes

Several sections of the NHS workforce – including nurses and paramedics – have been staging a series of walkouts Credit: PA

Nurses have called off their planned 48 hours strike next week after an intervention from the Prime Minister and a commitment to finding "a fair and reasonable settlement" in the ongoing dispute over pay and conditions.

But does this mark a change in tact from the government? And will it be enough with junior doctors voting resoundingly in favour of walking out and teachers also planning another strike early next month?

Heidi Alexander said: "The Labour Party has set out how we would make investment in the NHS workforce, investing £3.4billion by abolishing non-dom status.

"People are striking about their level of pay but they are also worried about these huge vacancies that we've got in the NHS, which means the staff we have got aren't able to provide the care that they want to be providing to patients. A future Labour government would be investing in the NHS in a way the conservatives haven't in the past 13 years."

Selaine Saxby said: "Doors have been opened to union reps and I am delighted the RCN are now talking.

"I think it's vital to acknowledge the huge level of investment that has gone into the NHS and just repeatedly spending non-dom tax money on it is not going to fix it. It is a deeply complex issue."

Ukraine

It is one year since Russia invaded Ukraine - and since then nearly 9,000 Ukrainians have arrived in the region under various government schemes.

Hundreds of Ukrainian troops have also been trained in Wiltshire by the British Army to help prepare them for frontline conflict.

Richard Foord MP said: "I think the Secretary of State for Defence and his team who have done an excellent job in preparing the Ukrainian troops as best as possible for the fight.

But, although the support is there, we have been responding in a very reactionary fashion to the requests that are coming in. I visited Kyiv in September and we are only now delivering on things that were requested back then."