Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many illegal firearms were seized on arrival in the UK in each of the last two years.

This government is doing more than any previous government to disrupt organised
crime and protect the security of the border. Border Force was split from the
failing UK Border Agency in 2012 and re-established security as the priority.

Border Force adopts an intelligence-led approach to all of its customs
activity, including searching for firearms, so that resources can be deployed
as effectively as possible. This work is a key aspect of the Government’s
approach to tackling organised crime and countering terrorism. The National
Crime Agency and Border Force work tirelessly to target the criminal groups
behind smuggling.

The number of illegal firearms seized in each of the last two years is as
follows:

The numbers of firearms seized at the border fluctuates on a yearly basis. This
can be attributed to a range of factors including the fact that organised crime
groups regularly change which countries they seek to smuggle weapons into. Any
changes in the numbers of firearms seized at the border does not mean there has
been a corresponding increase or decrease in the numbers that enter the UK
after not being detected at the border.