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When I was secretary of my university club we did have one chap join who - for the first time in history, I think - prompted a response from the police to our monthly membership inform.

"We would prefer this individual did not apply for a firearm certificate".

Right, why's that?

"We can't say. We would prefer this individual did not apply for a firearm certificate."

OK, can he remain a member of the club but without an FAC?

"That is a matter for you. We would prefer this individual did not apply for a firearm certificate."

Can you at the very least give us some indication of what he's done that apparently makes him unsuitable to hold an FAC?

"We can't say. We would prefer this individual did not apply for a firearm certificate."

Eventually we gave up trying to have a meaningful conversation with the police and instead asked the new member to have a chat with the committee. Turned out he'd accepted a police caution for ABH a year previously after being caught up in a bar brawl. Being all of 17/18 he had no idea that he was entitled to a solicitor and so on and had admitted the offence so he could leave the police station without being imprisoned overnight. At least, that was his story - we'd been refused the opportunity to verify it, and on the face of what he'd told us, he wasn't disqualified from handling firearms under section 21. Now for all we knew he could have actually been arrested for committing terrorism-related offences (for example) ... but the police were determined not to tell us anything of substance, so we had no means of verifying his story.

In the end we allowed him to become an airgun member only. But the police involvement put the frighteners on him and he drifted away after a month or two - which I suspect was what the police wanted to achieve. I don't think we, the club, did the right thing, but in face of the deliberate lack of information from the police I don't think there was anything else we could have done.

In the context of the thread, what would have happened had an FAC member not attended within the 12 months and we had had a similar "something's wrong, but we won't tell you what so you can carry the can for whatever happens next" type response from the police?

Gaz , that's almost word for word the conversation I had a number of years ago , the phrase was " we don't think this is the sort of person you would want to be having as a member of your club " , almost same issues , guy had been involved in a confrontation and gone thro similar at the station . When we asked him he explained and decided to leave applying for a few years and to follow it up later . I think he now has a shotgun cert and does a bit of rough shooting but generally a reasonable guy who stepped out of line the once .

Over a period of 36 +years and a total of three clubs I can think of only two people who were denied membership though we probably made one or two others think that it might be better going elsewhere rather than apply for club membership. I know of only two guys in that time who were refused the grant of a firearms certificate though to be fair the one chap wasn't a member of any club at the time. One unfortunate chap was denied because previous mental health issues that were not known to the club but denying his grant placed the club in an awkward position and the chap decided to concentrate on air guns instead.

We have however revoked the membership of two members both on grounds of safety and the club was not afraid to inform the police of the reasons why. The one guy we suspected had underlying health problems and we suspected altzeimers which we have just found out was the case. However this did not prevent the chap returning to another club to shoot as the police were not prepared to pay for the medical certificate I am informed. The problem was only picked up on his renewal and unfortunately the poor chap no longer shoots. The club has never been afraid to accept responsability and I think that this is the way it should be.

This may be an unpopular view, however I'm glad clubs are prepared to kick unsuitable members out. IMO we need to be self policing to a large extent.