On September 2, 2025, the National Crime Agency (NCA) circulated a ‘cease and desist’ letter, instructing the gun trade to immediately stop selling and ordering various models of blank firing pistols or revolver, all manufactured in Italy by Bruni. A full list of the models affected is included in the news item at Page 6 of this month’s issue. However, this instruction has not been prompted by any change in legislation. The NCA is relying on existing law, declaring that these Bruni models have now been found to be readily convertible imitation firearms, and are therefore classified in law as prohibited firearms, just as if they were live versions of the pistol or revolver they represent.
This ban follows a very similar pronouncement by the NCA almost a year ago in October 2024 in relation to various Turkish manufactured brands of top venting blank firing pistols (TVBFs). An amnesty period followed in February 2025, and there will likewise be an amnesty in February 2026 when owners and the trade can surrender the banned Bruni models. As before, no compensation will be provided on the basis there has been no change in the law. Yet such items were previously perfectly legal to possess and sell, and now suddenly they can no longer be lawfully sold or possessed without special authority.
The driver for the reclassification of firstly Turkish and then Italian models of blank firers is quite simple. The authorities in the UK have been reasonably successful in suppressing the supply and use of original lethal purpose firearms in criminal activity. Consequently. blank firers which have been converted by underworld armourers to fire modified ammunition have largely replaced the use of real firearms in crime, since the blank firers have been rather easier to source.
There has been a prevalence of firstly Turkish and then more recently Italian models of blank firers recovered from crime scenes.
Virtually all blank firing weapons are based on an original live firearm, which they are designed to copy or replicate, and are therefore imitation firearms. So why is it that some models have now been singled out by the authorities as ‘readily convertible’ imitation firearms?
The Firearms Amendment Act 1982 provides that an imitation firearm will be deemed to be readily convertible and treated in law as if it were a live version of the firearm which it represents if two tests are met. Firstly, it has the appearance of anything which would be classified as a firearm under section 1 Firearms Act 1968. As it is the appearance which matters, the blank firer does not need to have been converted to meet this criterion and can still be exactly as it came out the factory.
Secondly, the term ‘readily convertible’ is defined in the 1982 Act as meaning it can be converted into a live section 1 firearm without requiring any equipment or tools other than those in common use for household construction and maintenance, and without any special skill on the part of the person converting it in the construction or adaptation of firearms.
It is the NCA’s application of this second test which is more contentious, being based on the opinion of one or more forensic firearms examiners, who are inevitably skilled and experienced in converting and adapting firearms. These experts also no doubt have access to specialist tools for such purposes, which the average household would not have for use in DIY.
As far as I am aware, the re-classification of the Turkish and Italian models as readily convertible has not yet been tested in a court of law by prosecuting a firearms dealer. At a trial it would then be up to a jury of 12 ordinary people to determine whether they are satisfied that the particular imitation firearm in question is readily convertible. A jury with little or no experience of firearms might not come to the same conclusion as the expert witnesses relied upon by the NCA. There is also case law which established that in the prosecution of firearms offences the Crown must prove in each case that the individual firearm in question is classified in law in the way that they assert.
Information circulated by the NCA indicates there have been successful prosecutions for possession and use of both converted and unconverted TVBFs.
However, it’s unclear if those convictions were after a trial. If the defendants pleaded guilty to minimise their sentence in view of the wider criminality in which they were involved, the classification as readily convertible may never have been challenged and fully put to the test in court.
I am only aware of one case where a member of the gun trade has been investigated for selling these blank firers after the NCA announcement last October. In that case the sale took place on the very same day the NCA letter was circulated, and the sale had already been completed before it came to the attention of the dealership staff. After a police interview with the shop manager, and considering my representations on his behalf, the Crown Prosecution Service ultimately decided not to prosecute him because there was not a realistic prospect of a conviction.
I certainly wouldn’t encourage anyone in the trade to ignore the NCA’s instructions – to do so would put you at risk of prosecution. However, I and the GTA would be interested to hear of any other instances of members of the trade being investigated or prosecuted for sale of these items, or indeed continued possession after the respective amnesties have closed. Before accepting that any item is readily convertible, its essential that specialist legal advice is sought.