BBC Midlands Today
A Birmingham woman whose twin sister and two nieces were shot dead with a legally held weapon has said she believes “voices have been heard”, as tighter control on firearms licensing come into law.
Emma Ambler has campaigned for stricter laws around gun licensing since her sister, Kelly Fitzgibbons, and her two nieces, Ava and Lexi Needham, were murdered at their West Sussex home in 2020 by Kelly’s partner.
The changes include an increase in the number of references needed for shotgun certificate applications.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen some changes that mean something,” said Ms Ambler.
“This has taken over a lot of my life for a long time,” she said.
“But to know that, actually, this hasn’t all been wasted time and people are listening now, that the policy and the guidance isn’t strong enough… it does need to be strengthened, and they’re working that direction, was quite a moment actually.”
Robert Needham, Ms Fitzgibbons’ partner and father of father of Ava and Lexi, shot dead the three of them along with the family dog, at their home in Woodmancote, before turning the gun on himself.
A domestic homicide review found he had lied on his shotgun application to police about previous convictions and treatment for depression.
From 5 August, people applying for shotgun certificate applications will need two referees instead of one.
Referees need to have known the applicant well for at least two years and will need to vouch for them – which the Home Office said would ensure there was greater opportunity for concerns to be raised or identified.
“I don’t want any other family to go though what we’ve been through ever, but particularly if it can be preventable in some way,” said Ms Ambler.
“It’s become a real mission for me to make sure that what happened to Kelly doesn’t happen to anyone else.”
She told the BBC that she was hopeful, and the changes had made her emotional.
What is changing?
The rule change over the number of referees was a direct response to concerns raised by the senior coroner who held the inquests following the fatal shootings in Plymouth in 2021, the Home Office said. Jake Davison shot his mother and four others before killing himself.
Under the new rules, police must now speak to partners and members of households to identify signs of domestic abuse, as well as other factors that could indicate the applicant is not suitable to have a licence.
Additional checks must be carried out to ensure people with a record of violence are not allowed to access firearms.
Evidence of dishonesty, as well as questions about their integrity will also have an effect – if someone lies on their application or does not disclose medical conditions, it will bring their suitability to hold a gun into question.
Policing Minister Dame Diana Johnson said: “Only those who meet the highest standards of safety and responsibility should be permitted to use shotguns or firearms, and it is crucial that police have full information about the suitability of all applicants for these lethal weapons.”
“The first thing Emma did for me, was she educated me on what the gun licensing laws were currently,” said Jess Phillips, safeguarding minister and Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley.
“She told me that there was nothing about the issue of dishonesty… it had been proven in her sister’s case that he [Robert Needham] had lied – that is another thing that we’ve updated in the guidance.
“Where there has been dishonesty in the form-filling, that should stand against you having a licence, which I think is basic.”
She said the updates to the guidance were a product of listening to people like Ms Ambler, and learning from the outcomes in cases like the Plymouth shootings and a series of shootings in the Scottish Highlands.
Government to strengthen guidance further
“Previously, even if it had been found that somebody had lied on a form, even about what their address is… that wouldn’t stand against you, and now the guidance is clear in that,” said Phillips.
“It is impossible to prove, one way or another, that he [Needham] wouldn’t have gone out and found other means.
“But certainly, if these changes had been in place, he wouldn’t have been able to hold a gun licence and he wouldn’t have been able to kill so quickly and at will so many people. Of that I am sure,” she said.
The Home Office said it planned to strengthen guidance further, in light of weaknesses exposed by the shootings of Juliana Falcon and two of her children in Luton in September 2024.
Juliana’s son, Nicholas, had bought the gun fraudulently online.
It said the government would be consulting on measures to strengthen existing controls on shotguns and seeking views on ways to improve controls on the private sales of firearms.
