Coroner who probed murders of mum and daughter demands mandatory gun training for police officers

A coroner who investigated the murders of a mother and daughter by a puppy farmer has demanded mandatory gun training for police officers and warned that lives are still being put at risk.

Christine Lee, 66, and Lucy Lee, 40, were shot dead at their cottage in Farnham, Surrey by John Lowe, then 82, in February 2014, just seven months after he had been handed back his shotgun by police.

Lowe, later convicted of double murder and jailed for life, had been stripped of his firearm when accused in March 2013 of threatening to kill Lucy Lee’s sister with a gun, and concerns were raised about his health including suspected Alzheimer’s disease.

But when the threat to kill case collapsed against Lowe, and despite police knowing about previous allegations of domestic violence, an ongoing fraud investigation, and his criminal associations, he was handed back his shotgun and licence in July 2013.

An inquest jury concluded that five failings by Surrey Police had “more than minimally contributed” to the deaths of Mrs Lee and her daughter, and they heavily criticised the actions of the force’s Firearms Licensing Department.

In a report by Senior Coroner for Surrey Richard Travers, he has raised concerns that lives at being put at risk by a lack of firearms control training at forces around the UK.

“It was apparent from the evidence that, at the time of the deaths, there was no national training course for staff working in police firearms licensing departments as Firearms Enquiry Officers (FEOs)”, he said.

The coroner acknowledged that the College of Policing is developing an accreditation scheme for gun control officers but it is “not yet complete”, and a course on the topic run by South Yorkshire Police is widely used but not mandatory.

“I am concerned that, pending the introduction of a full accreditation scheme, the absence of a mandatory requirement for all new FEOs (whether in Surrey or elsewhere) to undertake comprehensive training for the role…will result in the risk of insufficient training, incorrect decision making concerning certification and, consequently, future deaths.”

Lowe, who died in prison aged 86, had failed to declare medical conditions when he successfully applied to renew his shotgun certificate in 2010, and when Surrey Police became aware of the Alzheimer’s disease concern they were not skilled enough to properly assess him.

Mr Travers said at present there is a “lack of clarity as to what medical conditions may be relevant and must be disclosed”, and officers lacking in medical training are left to assess a wide range of conditions when deciding on gun licences.

“I am concerned that in Surrey, and elsewhere, a fundamentally unreliable system for assessing medical fitness to hold a shotgun certificate is in operation”, he said.

“In my view there is currently a risk of future deaths in Surrey and elsewhere resulting from the absence of a system to ensure that, before a decision is made on the application, the Firearms Licensing Department is fully aware of (i) all medical conditions from which an applicant is suffering and (ii) the relevance of each medical condition to the application.”