GRAHAM DOWNING’S LASTING IMPACT ON SHOOTING LEGISLATION

Graham Downing, the British Shooting Sports Council’s (BSSC) secretary for the last six years, has announced that he will be retiring later in 2024. Gun Trade Insider took the opportunity to speak to him about the BSSC, the shooting world and his career in fieldsports.

The British Shooting Sports Council is possibly the most important body within the shooting industry that you’ve never heard of. The reason for its apparent reticence is simple enough — while the job of the mass membership organisations such as BASC, the CPSA, the NRA and the GTA is to grab the attention of their relevant sectors of the shooting public, to serve their members and to fly the flag for them, that of the BSSC is very different. It is to co-ordinate the views of the principal shooting associations, especially in the field of firearms legislation, where all shooters have a common interest, and to ensure that shooting speaks with a single voice to government, civil servants, legislators and public agencies such as the police.

Gun Trade Insider: You’ve had a long and varied career in the shooting, fieldsports and countryside sector. What initially drew you to this field, and how have your motivations evolved over the years?

Graham Downing: I was brought up in rural Norfolk, my father was a rough shooter and wildfowler, and I started accompanying him from around the age of 13. We were also a keen hunting family, so in my teenage years I split my time between hunting with hounds and wildfowling. I got a single barrel AYA shotgun for my 15 th birthday and became a passionate wildfowler, joining WAGBI in 1977. I was working in press and publicity in the farming sector and in 1982 when BASC, as they had now become, advertised for their first public relations officer, I applied and got the job. Later, I worked as national press officer for the CLA, which of course involved running the media operation for The Game Fair, which was hard work but huge fun. I got into rifle shooting and deerstalking in the early 1990s, and these days I stalk up to 50 days a year. I also love hunting overseas, particularly in remote places like Scandinavia, Africa and British Columbia.

GTI: Your career has spanned some pivotal moments, such as the events of Hungerford and Dunblane, and the struggle to retain hunting with hounds. How did these events shape your approach to your work and influence your strategies within the BSSC?

GD: As shooting consultant to the Countryside Alliance and working in PR and public affairs, I was deeply involved in the shooting world’s response to the 1996 Cullen Report and the government’s proposed handgun ban. It was a brutal time, and while we made some good progress under John Major’s Government, which was prepared to retain .22 pistols, Tony Blair’s landslide victory signalled a total ban. On the one hand, we had to enable shooters to vent their understandable anger, and on the other we had to keep talking to government and civil servants in order to achieve whatever exemptions were possible, such as the retention of heritage pistols.

GTI: In last month’s piece you mentioned the importance of “quiet diplomacy” in achieving progress. Could you share some examples where this approach has been particularly effective in maintaining or even advancing the interests of the shooting community?

GD: You’ve got to keep talking in order to win the confidence of legislators and public agencies. Where firearms law is concerned, government will always listen first to the police, so if you can find an agenda that both you and they can agree on, then progress can be made. That was the case with our discussions over the 2002 guidance on firearms licensing, the first time that licensing practice was properly codified so that both shooters and their licensing departments could know where they stood on a huge range of issues. More recently, we have made great strides in assisting with the training of firearms enquiry officers, and agreement on deregulation of sound moderators was a done deal and would have been over the line had it not been for the unexpected announcement of the general election. Moderators must remain a priority.

GTI: The process of firearms licensing has been a significant area of focus for you. What improvements have been made in this area in recent years, and what challenges still remain?

GD: The involvement of the medical profession in firearms licensing has been an important safety net. The problem is that while both the shooters and the police are bound by the legislation, the GPs are not, and I think they should be. There should be a statutory duty on them to do the medical check and place the marker on the shooter’s medical notes, and there should be a reasonable, proportionate and nationally agreed fee for doing so, preferably included in the fee we pay to the police for grant and renewal. Firearms fees, of course, will continue to be a contentious matter, and no doubt there will be some difficult discussions with the Labour Government over what they, and we, regard as the “full cost recovery”.

GTI: With the recent changes in government, how do you see the future of shooting sports in the UK? What advice would you give to your successor in navigating these potential challenges?

GD: I don’t doubt that there will be challenges ahead over firearms licensing policy and practice, but ministers will always listen to their civil servants and to the police. Good communications with the National Police Chiefs Council’s firearms portfolio holder and with the Home Office Firearms Policy Unit will be absolutely vital. It will also be important to keep onside with the Health & Safety Executive and with DEFRA over lead ammunition.

GTI: Looking back on your career, what are the key achievements or moments that you are most proud of?

GD: I’ve always enjoyed engagement with other national shooting associations, and in 2022 I was elected president of the World Forum for Shooting Activities. That was a huge privilege which led to my being able to address the United Nations in New York, where I was able to speak up for civilian hunters and target shooters.

GTI: The BSSC plays a crucial role in unifying the voice of the shooting sector. What do you believe are the essential qualities or strategies that have enabled the BSSC to be effective in this role?

GD: Focus on the things that unite all of us, whether we shoot game, hunt deer, break clays, shoot targets, burn black powder or collect historic firearms: we all need a fair, accessible and proportionate firearms licensing regime which respects the needs of our 620,000 shooters.

GTI: As you prepare to retire and spend more time on your farm, what personal or professional lessons would you pass on to the next generation of leaders in the shooting and countryside sectors?

GD: First, ensure that you have sound arguments and strategy which everybody around the table is prepared to sign up to. Next, meet the people in public administration that you are dealing with, spend time with them and get to know them. Then it’s all down to quiet diplomacy and being prepared to play the long game.