THE NEW MINISTER DAME DIANA JOHNSON MP

In my recent articles, I have talked about the challenges of getting firearms legislation over the line. The Conservatives worked for years to deal with issues raised by the licensing calamity and Plymouth outcomes — but failed to get legislation completed. The new Labour Government now has that task. Home Office officials will already be briefing the political leaders on what needs to be done and the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper MP, will be giving marching orders. Knife crime is high on the list, together with other events driving interests such as violent disorder and crossbows. As such, firearms legislation is there on the list — but it won’t necessarily be at the top of it.

The Home Secretary has a team of ministers to whom she delegates responsibility. Central to firearms legislation is the Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire and we have just been given her name: Dame Diana Johnson.

So, who is Dame Diana Johnson?

Dame Diana is 58, grew up in Cheshire and studied law at the University of London. She worked as a barrister, served as a Tower Hamlets councillor and then was a member of the London Assembly. She is the partner of Kevin Morton, who works in her parliamentary office. She is also a Commissioner of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and reveals her loves of strong Yorkshire tea, cake, crime novels and also black labradors.

Dame Diana has been the MP for what is now Kingston upon Hull North & Cottingham since 2005 — the constituency that’s the home of the Hull Cartridge Company. Her parliamentary career has seen her work in Gordon Brown’s government in the Department for Education, and then between 2010 and 2015 as a Shadow Minister for Home Affairs. From 2021 until the recent general election, she was Chair of the Home Affairs Committee. She is therefore no newcomer to the complex world of crime and policing.

So, what about her knowledge of firearms? Following the tragic shootings in Cumbia in June 2010, the Home Affairs Committee instigated a review of firearms control. By the time it was debated in Parliament, Dame Diana was a Shadow Minister for Home Affairs.

The committee’s report suggested that there should be no knee-jerk reaction and that it was important to collect all the facts and consider all the evidence before reaching any conclusions.

Dame Diana stated: “That is the right approach. There is agreement across the political spectrum that there must be mature consideration of the key issues in respect of firearms control…. It is widely agreed that we now have some of the strictest gun controls in the world.”

Dame Diana later went on to state that: “We must recognise the important role of shooting as a legitimate recreational activity in this country…

“I note from the Select Committee report that it, too, recognises that thousands of people use firearms in recreation and in their employment, and that it in no way wishes to restrict such activity. However, it is always helpful to test the effectiveness of firearms control and review current thinking on it.”

Dame Diana supported the introduction of medical record tagging — that has since become an important initiative — if not yet properly rolled out as far as we would like. Hopefully, she can make progress with the British Medical Association. She described shooting as a sport for young people as “positive activities.”

Dame Diana revealed her interest in limiting accessibility to those involved in domestic violence — something we all support. In recent months we have seen some rather inadequate attempts by some police forces to introduce clumsy ways of testing this through Project Titanium. I hope we can work with Dame Diana on the sensible development of how to deal with this important issue. No more #makingitupastheygoalong.

Finally, in this 2010 debate she talked about the issue of firearms licensing fees. “Such important work will need to be protected and the Committee has highlighted one way of doing this: by increasing fees”. Of course, the fees were reviewed in 2015 and set at a proper level. Time has now passed and inflation has hit the amount that the police realistically get. Post-Plymouth statutory guidance has also increased the work that the police need to undertake — this must also be considered. As a member of the Fees Working Group over the last two years, I know that this work is largely one and just needs to be brought forward into law. Funding the police to do the work — and then properly holding them to account — is a proper way forward. I feel that Dame Diana could help with getting that done.

Time has passed — and people can and do change — but the impression I get is that Dame Diana is an intelligent, evidence-based decision maker who has no over-zealous ideological desire to damage shooting. We are all members of a community that offers accessible, “positive activities” to hundreds of thousands of people in the UK. As the recent Value of

Shooting report illustrates, we contribute £3.3bn annually to the economy. We want a safe, proportionate licensing system that allows us to enjoy our sport, cares for the environment and delivers the benefits that we have all enjoyed.

I am very much looking forward to working closely with Dame Diana and representing the trade’s interests.