Ex-officers want to retain guns

Former security force members want personal weapons returned

The government and PSNI chief constable are being urged to stop withdrawing personal protection weapons from former members of the security forces.

Former soldiers and police officers in NI can only renew their licence if their lives are under threat.

Almost 3,500 people have personal protection weapons. The figure does not include serving police officers.

The licence for the weapons has to be renewed every three years, but many of the applications are now being refused.

Licences for personal protection weapons are given to those considered to be at risk of terrorist attack, mainly former police officers and soldiers.

Former members of the security forces said the dissident republican murders of two soldiers in Antrim and a policeman in Craigavon demonstrate that the weapons are still needed.

A former member of the security forces, who asked not to be identified, said he was concerned about having to give up his personal weapon.

Security work

"My business is involved around the security force people at the moment," he said.

"It's nearly all security work that we do and if I'm going out to do the jobs, I need protection and I would need to hold on to my gun.

DUP assembly member Arlene Foster said: "It is vital that people are able to at least attempt to guarantee their own safety from the threat posed by these dissident republican murderers.

"The DUP will be taking this issue up with Sir Hugh Orde in coming days."

Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister is calling on the government and Sir Hugh Orde to relax the rules.

"Unless they have specific intelligence of a specific threat against a specific individual, the weapon is withdrawn," he said.

"When you look at the events of last weekend, it's quite clear there was no specific intelligence on soldiers being murdered in Antrim or a policeman being murdered in Craigavon."

It is understood that former members of the security forces who had their weapons withdrawn in recent months are now lobbying to have them returned.