A government tabled amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill was accepted at Report Stage on 25 February 2026, which will deregulate sound moderators (also referred to as ‘silencers’) and flash hiders by removing them from their current status of Section 1 firearms. This follows the amendment tabled by Lord Brady of Altrincham and prepared by the Countryside Alliance which received wide, cross-party support from peers when it was considered at the previous stage of the Bill.

Lord Katz, representing the government, introduced the amendment and acknowledged Lord Brady’s previous amendment, to which the government was sympathetic. The amendment received unanimous, cross-party approval from the peers present, with Lord Brady responding:

“My Lords, I rise very briefly to thank the Ministers on the other side of the House. I am very grateful that they have accepted what I think was an entirely common-sense case, which the government had already accepted in a report that was previously published. I would just say that, in what I think is now my 29th year in Parliament in one House or the other, the number of occasions when Governments and Ministers accept entirely common-sense arguments from the other side of the House and respond is so small that I cannot think of many others, so I really am grateful. It will help the police and reduce the bureaucratic burden on them. It will reduce costs for a lot of people and does not pose any harm whatever, so thank you.”

This amendment being tabled by the government and is subsequent acceptance is welcomed by the Countryside Alliance, who seized the opportunity presented by the Crime and Policing Bill to deliver this boon to the shooting community.

Short of full deregulation, this legislation will have the effect of alleviating police firearms licensing departments of a huge and unnecessary administrative burden, whilst allowing legitimate users of sound moderators to buy and sell them without having to proceed through the cumbersome, costly and time consuming variation process – all of this with zero increase in risk to public safety.

The government’s proposed new law will make it an offence to possess a sound moderator for a Section 1 firearm without also possessing either a firearms certificate or shotgun certificate. It will not be an offence to possess a sound moderator designed for other firearms, like shotguns or sub 12 ft lbs air guns, which are excepted from Section 1 of the Firearms Act 1968, without a firearms certificate or shotgun certificate. This level of deregulation is exactly in line with the government’s June 2025 proposals.

The commencement of this deregulation is yet to be determined, although it is likely to come into force on a day appointed by the Home Secretary, as is standard procedure. The government would be wise to commence this legislation on sound moderators as soon as they possibly can, as the immediate alleviation of some of the administrative burden on police firearms licensing departments cannot come too soon, with many forces struggling as things stand. We will know more about the commencement of this legislation when Report Stage concludes, which is currently scheduled for mid-March. The Bill is expected to be finalised before the King’s Speech at the state opening of parliament in mid-May 2026. Until this amendment passes into law sound moderators remain defined as Section 1 firearms.