Gun crime my top priority - Smith

Ms Smith, speaking two days after the fatal shooting of 11-year-old Rhys Jones in Liverpool, conceded there were too many guns on the streets but pledged to help people feel safe.

She reiterated the importance of catching the young Everton fan's killer and urged people to come forward and give police any information they had on his death.

She told GMTV: "It is about helping people to feel they can be safe, that they do feel safe, their kids do feel protected, they can go out, they can get on with their lives.

"Of course I understand why people will not feel like that today."

The Home Secretary acknowledged there were still too many guns on the streets but also said "statistics aren't a help but gun crime is down".

She added: "One of the things I am talking about with the Prime Minister is where are people getting guns from? How are they getting here?"

Ms Smith also said she had asked the serious crime agency how the Government could stop guns coming into the community.

However, she insisted that gun crime was not a universal phenomenon among the younger generation.

"The vast majority of young people, of people generally, are not engaged in that activity. Most young people are shocked by this," she said