Smith hails illegal guns crackdown

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Co-ordinated raids on Wednesday to tackle the illegal firearms trade and reassure communities led to more than 100 arrests.

She told GMTV: "The fact that we have had 1,000 police officers out, working in London, Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham, that we have had well over 100 people arrested, is a strong sign that we can fight back against gun crime, and particularly gang related gun crime, and we can make a difference."

She added: "Yesterday's day of action was pretty impressive, but it's part of a programme of work that communities and police forces are engaged in up and down the country."

There were 57 arrests in Merseyside, and 23 in Manchester, where police seized a stun gun, ammunition, machetes and drugs.

She said more than 1,300 weapons were seized, most of which were imitation firearms.

"These are obviously also scary when used in crime, and we need to get rid of them off the streets."

Police executed search warrants in the operation and set up armed mobile checkpoints using automatic number plate recognition technology.

Alongside Revenue and Customs licensing officers, police also visited registered firearms dealers, checking their records, to ensure they were complying with laws on selling guns.

Previous Home Office research has indicated that an imitation firearm can be bought for just £20 and a shotgun for £50. A military-quality handgun will go for around £1,000, while an automatic weapon can carry a price tag of up to £4,000.