Soft sentence for possession of a stolen S.5 firearm!

They were in a museum.
That’s what leads me to believe they were decommissioned. Every none standard issue weapon we used to hold including Uzi’s, vicars machine guns and even lee Enfield were all no more than memorabilia.
 
If they were active rifles then yes they should have been given the full force of the law.Still remains to be seen what sentence Laidler gets.As for being treated with kid gloves a lot of offences recently in S&A area that have come to court have seen the officers lose jobs and pensions which is right if found guilty but for a civilian on a similar charge would only probably get a fine and community service .

The problem with sentencing in this country is that if you are a decent upstanding member of society who does something wrong in an otherwise law abiding life you get a harsh sentence because "you should have known better" whereas if you're a degenerate career criminal you get reduced sentence for rehabilitation because "you're a product of your environment and poor upbringing" so its not their fault.
 
That’s what leads me to believe they were decommissioned. Every none standard issue weapon we used to hold including Uzi’s, vicars machine guns and even lee Enfield were all no more than memorabilia.
He got 30 grand for the sniper rifle, can a decommissioned weapon command that sort of money?
 
That’s what leads me to believe they were decommissioned. Every none standard issue weapon we used to hold including Uzi’s, vicars machine guns and even lee Enfield were all no more than memorabilia.
"vicars have machine guns now???":eek: that must swell the donations bowl.;)
 
As said above they could possibly be decommissioned weapons. Esp with the very large date that they could have gone missing. If all still serviceable there would have been quantity check every day with 100% serial number check once per week and an external audit once per year.
In regards to destroying weapons parts I was allowed to do that. They get cut up with a gas axe boxed up and shipped back as weapons scrap. Yes in theory you could build a gun of some sort from the spare/old parts however there’s always one item of a weapon that can’t be destroyed and is the part that is accountable for on a units accounts and on an SA80 that is the whole trigger mechanism housing.

These guys seem like a couple of clowns trying to line their pockets. It’s happened with night vision and thermal in the past too. Even down to the cleaning kits you see on eBay.
I once had to decommission an AK47 for my boss that he had as a leaving present from 22SAS in Iraq. He had it lay in his garage for over ten years. And now it’s no more than an ornament.
Hardly a couple of “Clowns” they deliberately and systematically stole weapons from the museum. At no point has it been stated they were deactivated, that would no doubt of been part of the defences case if they were.
Regardless of whether they worked or not the offence is supposed to be Absolute with a minimum five year sentence.
How the Court gave out a non custodial sentence beggars belief. I hope the prosecution apply for a review, but I won’t hold my breath.
 
Hardly a couple of “Clowns” they deliberately and systematically stole weapons from the museum. At no point has it been stated they were deactivated, that would no doubt of been part of the defences case if they were.
Regardless of whether they worked or not the offence is supposed to be Absolute with a minimum five year sentence.
How the Court gave out a non custodial sentence beggars belief. I hope the prosecution apply for a review, but I won’t hold my breath.
A couple of clowns for doing it none the less. I don’t condone theft of anything regardless. I know it hasn’t been stated they were decommissioned however it has to be a possibility given the punishment given. Guess until the details come out we will never know.
 
When the mandatory minimum 5 year sentence was first mentioned, did anyone really think it would ever happen ?
Come on it was a sop to make those who lost their handguns feel better about it all.

Neil.
 
What if any other member of the public had been found in possession of a stolen assault rifle?
What if any other member of the public had been found in possession of a stolen assault rifle?

Be careful, there is a lot more to this than meets the eye. The press coverage is the usual travesty. MOD plod spent millions trying to get convictions. So many of the charges were thrown out that they became desperate for 'success' at any price. Many of the charges in this and related cases hinge on the status of straight-pull LSWs which the 'police' claimed had never been available on the civilian market. One of the defendants produced an M.O.D. advertisement in court proving this to be nonsense! I believe the 'police' are now being sued.
All is not what it seems.
 
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