Funding cut for British anti-gun program

LONDON, Aug. 9 (UPI) -- Supporters are protesting the possible closing of a successful British anti-gun crime project whose funds were recently cut by the Home Office.

Police and many high-ranking politicians have praised the Don't Trigger project whose nearly $1,400,000 grant renewal and funding for a new anti-knife crime initiative was recently turned down by Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker. That decision has provoked controversy among fellow Cabinet members and victim support groups, reported The Independent Saturday.

Deputy Labor leader Harriet Harman said she was "shocked and saddened" by the refusal to continue funding the Don't Trigger project, adding that she was "concerned that the decision to withdraw this funding will have wide implications."

Raymond Stevenson, head of Urban Concepts, the group behind Don't Trigger, said members were totally surprised by the Home Office decision.

"Everyone involved with Don't Trigger was totally shocked by the decision to stop our funding, especially as we had been held up as a great example of a grass-roots project. The government has asked the community to come forward and get involved in efforts to cut gun and knife crime, and that's exactly what we are doing. Without the funding, we are finished," he said.