This week Luke met with representatives of the Independent Office of Police Conduct who are conducting an investigation into the handling of the firearms certificate given to the killer in the Keyham shootings. They are also investigating the decision by Devon and Cornwall Police to return the firearm and certificate after it had been suspended.

Luke stressed they need the space and time to conduct a thorough investigation but hoped that the results of their investigation could feed into the Coroner’s investigation with the facts of their investigation put into the public domain before Christmas.

Luke said:

“The community in Keyham deserve to know why the killer had a shot gun and why it was returned. There are two key questions I hope the IOPC will answer. Firstly, did Devon and Cornwall Police follow the correct procedures in approving a firearms certificate, suspending it and returning it. Secondly, are those procedures correct. The answer to the second one is clearly no, but we need the answer to the first question to get the full picture.

 

“I want to ensure that no other community goes through what Keyham, Ford and Plymouth have in the past fortnight. That means we will need changes to the law, to procedures and support but they need to be the right changes. I do not want to see kneejerk reactions from Ministers seeking to look busy. We need considered and thoughtful changes that learn the lessons from Keyham and seek to ensure that they can never happen again. My job as the MP for the area of the shooting is to work with the community, Government and the Police to learn the right lessons and ensure they are implemented.

 

“I am grateful for the IOPC taking the time to brief me and would like to see them do the same for our community too. We are all grateful to the Police for their speedy reaction to the shooting and the way they secured our community in the days after. We do need answers about what happened though but that investigation should not reflect on the professional work we saw in our community in the minutes, hours and days after the shooting.”

You can find out more about the IOPC investigation here:

https://www.policeconduct.gov.uk/investigations/plymouth-mass-shooting-devon-and-cornwall-police