Press Release from Gun Control Network, Emma Ambler and Rhianon Bragg 28 August 2024
by GCN on 28-08-2024
Emma Pattison was the talented, ambitious and successful Headteacher of Epsom College. Lettie was her bright, intelligent 7-year-old daughter. They were fatally shot at their home in February 2023 by a man granted a gun licence by a broken Firearms Licensing system.
Emma and Lettie’s grieving family and friends join a growing community of victims and survivors of gun violence calling on the new Government to tighten controls on guns and, specifically, to implement the changes identified by various Coroners in their Prevention of Future Deaths (PFD) reports. These include the Durham Coroner’s call for a “root and branch” review of firearms licensing following the death of three women in 2012; the Surrey Coroner’s PFD report following the death of two women in 2014; the Plymouth Coroner’s PFD report calling for a radical reform of firearms licensing following the fatal shooting of five people in Keyham in 2021; and the most recent PFD report, following the deaths of Emma and Lettie, written by the same Coroner who raised his concerns about failures in firearms licensing following the incident in Surrey a decade ago.
Survivor, Rhianon Bragg, was stalked by her abusive and controlling former partner, who was a Firearms Licence holder. He held her hostage overnight at gunpoint before she escaped to raise the alarm. She continues to work to raise awareness of armed coercive control, domestic abuse and the need for reform.
The family of Kelly Fitzgibbons are also campaigning for more robust licensing. Kelly was fatally shot with her daughters, 2-year-old Lexi and 4-year-old Ava, by another man granted a licence, who, like Emma and Lettie’s killer, lied on his application form.
The Gun Control Network developed a Manifesto for Gun Licensing Reform after the tragic shootings in Plymouth in 2021. This was ignored by the previous Government.
Since 2010, over 30 women and girls have been fatally shot by men whom the police had decided were suitable to own a gun. In some cases, guns were temporarily removed from potential killers, only to be returned by dysfunctional Firearms Licensing departments. We know that a woman’s greatest risk of gun violence is in the home, at the hands of her partner or male relative with a history of coercive control or domestic abuse and a licensed gun. Among other measures, it is clear that licensing officers should be consulting past and present partners and taking more care to ensure that applicants do not lie on their application forms. Rigorous gun licensing is expensive but it will save lives, and it should be the gun owners, not taxpayers, who pay.
Rhianon Bragg says:
“It’s shocking that for over a decade Coroners have not been listened to and their recommendations not acted on. In that time, there have been more deaths that could have been prevented. This is a failure of government. Firearms Licensing Departments can only act within legislation. The new Government must implement a root-and-branch review, make the changes and fulfil its duty to protect the public. I will continue working with the relevant agencies to make this happen.”
Emma Ambler says:
“How many tragedies do there have to be? How many more PFD recommendations will be ignored? The system is unsafe. I had no idea how cheap and easy it is to get a gun until I was put in this horrendous position. It’s shocking. I don’t want to subsidise firearms licences from my taxes, and I’m sure nor do many millions of others. This new Government must act now to change firearms licensing and make it safer.”
Contacts:
Emma Amber www.kellyfitzgibbonsfoundation.org
Rhianon Bragg via guncontrolnetwork@gmail.com