Just an update on the story written by Yosser's Airsoft Odyssey regards to new proposals that were allegely submitted to the ACPO (Association of Chief Police Officers)/Home Office by Frank Bothamley, the Chairperson of UKARA and part owner of Firesupport, we got in touch with Frank himself for his reaction to the story. He replied that the proposal of selling RIFs (Real Imitation Firearms) should be sold through Registered Firearms Dealers (RFDs) was a suggestion only.

In his email reply to us, Frank mentioned that it was an internal email to canvass members of the UKARA on their suggestion in changing the VCR (or VCRA) which according to the ACPO, is unenforceable. Whilst there were suggestions put forward by members, these were not proposed to the Home Office and mentioned that RIFs are still not to be sold as air weapons.

We followed up with some further questions with regards to the list of suggestions amongst the members and why do the ACPO deem that the VCAR is uneforceable. Whilst we wait for a direct reply from Frank, we come to this article from Airsoft International Magazine which has much more detail and we would assume would be Frank's answers to our follow-up questions:

Last night a huge fuss kicked off after a “leaked” report was published which was improperly digested by the author and spun in a manner by which to raise a huge amount of alarm, an act in itself potentially damaging. The author has a history of anti-UKARA behavior and has thrived on the sensationalism of the flawed “report”. To get the true facts of the matter and to present the contents of this now infamous email correctly, we’ve gone directly to the author of it, Frank B., chairman of UKARA and joint owner of industry leading UK retailer, Fire Support.

Read the full entry at the Airsoft International Magazine Blog. Reactions are more than welcome.