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Click here to see our interview with Lucy Cope

"I'd like a 10 year minimum sentence"

Lucy's son was shot at an event in a park where there were lots of people. There was a confrontation and later that evening he met his death at the hands of a gunman.

"I'd like it to be a 10 year minimum sentence for possessing a gun... a lot of guys don't want to carry weapons but they're not sure what's around the corner."

Lucy will also be talking to the Home Office Minister Bob Ainsworth and will be asking him to bring in a severe minimum sentence as a deterrent.

Click here to see the full interview

"The issue is a complex problem"

"We do reassure the public that something is being done whether from the police or lots of agencies... The difficulty comes that just because you make a law it doesn't mean to say people will abide by it... (also) judges do not like mandatory sentences they feel it takes away from their professionalism".

"The issue is a complex problem... there are things like the importation of illegal weapons and the people who are going to bring them in... we need to bring back trust with police and communities working together".

Further details from BBC News Online

TALKING POINT

How can guns be made less accessible? The Government should go for a complete ban on the import of all replica guns Nick, UK

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The meeting comes a day after new Home Office figures showed gun crime has risen by 35% in a year.

There were 9,974 incidents involving firearms in the 12 months to April 2002 - a rise from 7,362 over the previous year.

That represents an average of 27 offences involving firearms every day in England and Wales, with guns actually fired in nearly a quarter of cases.

And the total is more than double the amount of gun crimes committed in 1997, when Labour came to power.

That is despite the Labour-imposed ban on handguns triggered by the 1996 Dunblane tragedy.

The problem has been highlighted by the New Year shootings that killed two teenage girls in Birmingham.

And a further worrying aspect of the problem has emerged with police warning of a growing threat from guns disguised as everyday objects, such as pens and torches.

Home Office Minister John Denham has called the rise in gun crime "desperately worrying".

Friday's talks will try to uncover gaps in firearms legislation, with the rise in small arms imports from the Balkans also on the agenda.

Earlier this week, the government unveiled plans to introduce a five-year minimum jail sentence for anyone illegally possessing a firearm.

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Crime at-a-glance, crunching the numbers

That was followed on Wednesday by plans to ban anyone carrying a replica or air weapon in a public place without a good reason, as well as new age limits.

The pro-hunting group, the Countryside Alliance, has called the new proposed restrictions on airguns "pointless and unfair".

The director of the Campaign for Shooting, Nigel Davenport said: "Victimising law-abiding people who own and use air weapons properly does nothing to reduce gun misuse by the criminal fraternity."

Mr Blunkett has denied opposition accusations that ministers are guilty of a snap response to the deaths of cousins Charlene Ellis, 18, and Latisha Shakespeare, 17, in a hail of bullets at a party in Birmingham last week.

The Conservatives say better policing is the key measure needed to tackle gun crime.

Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said some inner city areas were almost "lawless" following the growth of a gangs and guns culture.

Liberal Democrat spokesman Simon Hughes said the new gun crime figures meant tougher action was needed on the problem.

"Gangs which use and glorify guns as status symbols must be relentlessly targeted by the police," said Mr Hughes.

Police officers have said the measures announced this week are only a start.

Some police chiefs want still tougher rules on replicas which can be reconverted into live-firing weapons.

At the same time, BBC News has learned that a new list of up to sixty different types of disguised guns and knives is about to be circulated to the authorities across Europe.

There is particular concern about the possible risk to airline security.