Blair promises he will get rid of all pistols

Tony Blair promised yesterday that a Labour government would legislate for a total ban on handguns, marking the end of the political truce on the issue after the Dunblane tragedy eight months ago.

The Labour leader told The Independent: "If elected, we shall in the next parliament bring forward proposals in government time to amend this Bill to provide for a complete ban on handguns for general civilian use."

Some Conservative MPs were privately uneasy last night that the Government had handed Labour a propaganda gift on an issue that could cost votes, especially in Scotland. And Labour MPs pointed out that Michael Forsyth, the Secretary of State for Scotland, who persuaded the Prime Minister initially to pursue a non-partisan policy, could lose his seat on the issue. He defends a majority of only 200.

Yesterday afternoon, Labour and Liberal Democrat leaders united with Dunblane families to make an emotional last-minute appeal to MPs to ban all handguns.

Before the Commons debate, Ann Pearston, a leading organiser of the Snowdrop petition, signalled that the campaign would support any move to reverse a government victory: "If the decision goes the wrong way, there will be more deaths, more victims and more people whose lives are ruined."

In the Commons, the Home Secretary, Michael Howard, defended the Government's decision to exempt .22-calibre pistols from the ban. They were "four or five times less powerful" than the guns which the government would prohibit altogether, and could only be held at gun clubs.

With public opinion overwhelmingly on Labour's side, the opposition's argument was strengthened yesterday by news of the fatal shooting of four children in the United States. The children had been shot in the head with a .22-calibre gun. Their bodies were discovered in South Carolina on Sunday night.

Mr Blair told The Independent that he would allow a free vote on the issue if he became Prime Minister, but added: "Our commitment to such a total ban is very clear. This is an issue that lies at the heart of public concern and it is right that we give this commitment today."

As the pro-gun lobby brandished placards outside Parliament - declaring "57,000 shooters are being punished for one man's action" - there was no doubt which side had the more effective hold on emotions inside the House.

Graham Downing, a council member of the British Shooting Sports Council, said: "There are far more guns in illegal circulation than in legitimate hands. This Bill is going to do nothing to take out the hundreds of thousands of guns in illegal circulation held by armed criminals."

But Eileen Harrild, a teacher who was shot and wounded in Dunblane, had far more impact on television as she struggled to compose herself, telling a Westminster news conference: "I am down here to try to shame people into doing what I consider to be the right thing."

She added: "It does seem ludicrous to me that [the Government] are thinking of retaining .22 calibre handguns in the name of sport. This is just not an argument."