Rupert Lowe comments on Dunblane massacre spark outrage in Scotland
Restore Britain leader Rupert Lowe has faced widespread criticism after describing the Dunblane massacre as "one murder" during an interview with podcaster Joe Rogan
Rupert Lowe has sparked outrage after incorrectly claiming there was "one murder" during the Dunblane massacre while discussing Britain's gun laws on Joe Rogan's podcast.
The Restore Britain leader and Great Yarmouth MP told Rogan that handguns in the UK were banned "because there was a murder up in Dunblane".
Rogan responded: "One murder?", to which Lowe replied: "One murder."
The Dunblane massacre took place on March 13, 1996, when Thomas Hamilton shot dead 16 children aged five and six and their teacher at Dunblane Primary School. Another 15 children and three adults were injured before Hamilton killed himself.
The attack remains the deadliest mass shooting in British history and led to sweeping changes to UK gun laws.
Backlash from politicians
Lowe's comments prompted an immediate backlash, with Scottish Conservative MSP Stephen Kerr calling them "shocking".
He said: "One murder? Sixteen kids and their teacher were murdered. Fifteen other primary school children were wounded.
"My children's school, about 15 minutes from Dunblane, was locked down that day. They'll never forget being kept in the gym hall until everyone learned the gunman was dead.
"They'll never forget the teachers trying to hold themselves together while reassuring frightened children.
"To reduce that atrocity to 'one murder' is deeply insulting. It wasn't a single murder. It was a mass murder. In a primary school.
"Almost as disturbing was the tone – one of disbelief, even mockery, that anyone could respond by tightening gun laws.
"This wasn't some obscure historical event. It happened in 1996, when Lowe was 38 years old.
"He should have known what happened on that terrifying day in Dunblane.
"For anyone who remembers that day, hearing it dismissed so casually is genuinely shocking."
Clackmannanshire and Dunblane SNP MSP Keith Brown also condemned the remarks.
He said: "Rupert Lowe is a stain on our politics and his comments are beyond despicable.
"Sixteen children and a teacher were shot dead while 15 more children were wounded.
"Despite these hideous remarks from Rupert Lowe, the Snowdrop Campaign that followed that terrible day ensured a ban on the private ownership of most handguns – that is the proud legacy of the bereaved families and the local community.
"Their courage and determination in the aftermath of the attack is something we should never betray and our community will never let the likes of Rupert Lowe do exactly that."
Labour MP Chris Kane also raised the issue in the House of Commons, saying Lowe's comments had "caused profound offence to the community" in his Stirling and Strathallan constituency.
He told MPs: "To describe the Dunblane tragedy as 'one murder' diminishes what happened to 16 children and their teacher, and the suffering of everyone whose lives were changed forever in March 1996.
"The people of Dunblane responded not with division but with dignity, compassion and a determination that no other community should endure such horror.
"It is because of their courage and the united action of this House that this country has some of the strongest firearms laws in the world, and an ongoing cross-party approach to ensuring these protections will not be weakened."
Comments made during gun law discussion
Lowe made the remarks while explaining to Rogan why he believes the UK has strict firearms laws.
He said: "Effectively, they are trying to make that very difficult through the licensing laws for guns.
"My father used to shoot pistols for Oxford University and he's dead now, bless him, but all his pistols were taken away, the pistols he used to shoot with at Oxford University. I mean, we now have a society which needs radical change."
The Dunblane massacre prompted a wave of public outrage and the Snowdrop Campaign, led by bereaved families and supporters, calling for tighter gun laws.
In 1997, John Major's Conservative government introduced a ban on most handguns. Later that year, Tony Blair's Labour government extended the ban to include all cartridge ammunition handguns.
Responding to the criticism, a Restore Britain spokesman said: "Rupert was clearly referring to one incident."