Blair to Host Urgent Summit on Gun Crime

Downing Street has announced that Prime Minister Tony Blair is to host a gun crime summit following the recent series of fatal shootings across London.

|PIC1|Home Secretary John Reid is expected to attend as well as police, council leaders and community workers.

In the aftermath of the recent spate of gun attacks in the capital, Blair has recommended that the minimum age to receive a mandatory five-year jail sentence for possessing a gun could be reduced from 21 to 17.

Mr Blair was compelled to act after the capital was left stunned by four fatal gun attacks in the past month in which three of the victims were teenagers.

Home Secretary John Reid explained that police would not be able to tackle gun crime by themselves. He said, "If we truly want a no-gun Britain, a no-gun country, then we all have to work together. Not just the police, not just more powers, but parents and people in the local communities facing their responsibilities."

Mr Blair denied accusations that the proposals were a "knee-jerk" reaction.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Christians, along with Londoners from across the city's diverse communities, have announced that they will unite in a prayer walk through the two London boroughs blighted by the recent tragic gun attacks.

The torch-lit walk from Peckham Square to Windrush Square in Brixton follows the murders in the area in the past month. It will take place from 5pm to 7pm on February 22, the same day as the Government holds the summit.

The walk has been organised by a coalition of Black church and other Christian leaders, and there will be representation from people of other faiths and diverse communities. It is being supported by the Mayor of London's office and the Metropolitan Police Service.

Pastor Nims Obunge of the Peace Alliance said: "Drugs and guns are a menace to our society. We all need to work together with criminal justice agencies to help vulnerable young people and keep guns off the street."

Lee Jasper is Director of Policing for the Mayor of London's Office and Chair of the Metropolitan Police Service Operation Trident Independent Advisory Group.

He said the Mayor's Office applauds the response of Black majority churches to the spate of murders of teenagers in South London.

"This prayer walk will demonstrate the total abhorrence of the vast majority of black Londoners to gun violence," he said.

"Our children need to see we care.

"We must support the police tackling these crimes. We must also face the reality that we have a serious problem with a small minority of our young people. Parental and familial responsibility here is absolutely key."