THE GOVERNMENT today moved to reverse two defeats to its ban on all pistols inflicted by hereditary Peers in the House of Lords.

Home Secretary Jack Straw sought to overturn the changes as MPs debated the Firearms Bill in detail at its report stage.

Labour legislation to extend the ban on all handguns over .22 calibre to all pistols of whatever size caused problems in the Upper House.

The Lords voted by 18 to allow disabled people exemption from the ban and by 13 to allow international .22 shooting to continue at specially approved centres.

The government blamed the defeats on the votes of hereditary Peers, claiming it would have won both votes with a majority of 32 if only life peers had voted and warned that they brought the stripping of inherited Lords voting rights nearer.

Today a Labour spokesman said its proposals for as total ban had been overwhelmingly backed in the Commons and by the British people and that the Lords amendments would be overturned.

He added: "The people will be amazed that hereditary Peers were trying to block this important legislation in the House of Lords. As public safety is our priority, we will be asking the House of Commons to overturn these amendments immediately."

The original move to ban large calibre handguns was taken by the previous Tory government after the Dunblane massacre in which 16 children and their Great Harwood-born teacher Gwen Mayor died in a shooting spree by Thomas Hamilton, who killed himself.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.