Brown defends gun crime penalties

The Prime Minister spoke out after Bernard Hogan-Howe, the Chief Constable of Merseyside, said judges were sending an "inconsistent" message to criminals.

Mr Hogan-Howe believes too few offenders are receiving the mandatory minimum five-year term for possession of a firearm.

In The Times, he said: "Locally, there is evidence of sentencing where the power has been available and not been used and that is simply wrong. I want very heavy sentences for possession of firearms which would deter people from arming others or carrying guns themselves."

The mandatory term was introduced in 2004 amid public concern over gun crime. According to the Ministry of Justice's (MoJ) most recent figures, the average sentence handed down for the offence in 2005 was 47 months and only 40% of offenders were given the mandatory minimum sentence that year.

The Prime Minister said sentencing was only one element in the fight against gun gangs. He said: "The important thing about gun crime is that we have the policing and support for the police to enable us to root out gun crime.

"We had set sentencing that is very high - five years for possession of a gun - for magistrates to use. It is tough sentencing to take action alongside more policing in hotspots, more metal detection, more undercover policing, more stop and search powers, and more surveillance."

Mr Hogan-Howe, whose force is investigating the shooting of 11-year-old Rhys Jones last year, has held meetings with the local judiciary and members of the legal profession to discuss the effects of gun crime on the community.

Last October, Natasha Peniston was jailed for just three years for possession of a gun which accidentally killed her 12-year-old daughter, Kamilah. But, the court had heard, Peniston had been pressured by others into keeping the weapon and Mr Justice Holland said such exceptional circumstances justified the lower term.

On BBC Radio Four's Today programme, the Chief Constable accepted that there were occasions when the minimum term was not appropriate. "But I'm afraid those are very rare occasions and the thing is, we can get through to criminals if we start to sentence in the right way," he added.