Restore’s Rupert Lowe sparks fury for describing Dunblane bloodbath as ‘one homicide’

Restore Britain leader Rupert Lowe brought up the Dunblane shooting in a discussion about gun control in an interview with Joe Rogan, the world’s most popular podcaster

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Bereaved families have condemned Restore Britain leader Rupert Lowe for downplaying the 1996 Dunblane massacre as “one murder”.

The right-winger, who was kicked out of Reform after a bust up with Nigel Farage, brought up the devastating school shooting in a discussion about gun control in an interview with Joe Rogan, the world’s most popular podcaster.

Mr Lowe said the handguns in the UK were banned “because there was a murder up in Dunblane”. Mr Rogan responded: “One murder?,” before the Great Yarmouth replied: “One murder.” He complained that his father had his pistols taken away due to major reform to gun laws that followed the deadliest mass shooting in British history.

Sixteen children aged just five and six and their teacher Gwen Mayor were killed by gunman Thomas Hamilton who opened fire on a primary one PE class at Dunblane Primary School on March 13, 1996. Another 12 children and three adults were injured before Hamilton killed himself.

Kenny Ross, whose five-year-old daughter Joanna was killed, told LBC: “The ignorance of some people when it comes to the Dunblane massacre… they don’t realise how devastating it was and how we have a far safer society because there is no longer private gun ownership.

“Thirty years have passed and people forget what we had to go through and I wouldn’t want anyone else to go through that. It’s people like him that are very ignorant and selfish.”

Jack Crozier, whose sister Emma, 5, was also killed said: “Rupert Lowe’s father had his pistols taken away. My father had his daughter taken away.

“He knew exactly what happened at Dunblane. He made an active choice, on one of the world’s biggest podcasts, to describe the massacre of 16 five and six-year-old children and their teacher as “one murder.”

“The people of Great Yarmouth need to seriously consider if this is who they want representing them.”

The comments were branded “deeply insulting” and “shocking” by politicians. Labour MP Chris Kane raised a point of order in the Commons, saying Mr Lowe had “caused profound offence” in his Stirling and Strathallan constituency.

“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,” he said.

“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.”

Scottish Tory MSP Stephen Kerr 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.”

Clackmannanshire and Dunblane SNP MSP Keith Brown said: “Rupert Lowe is a stain on our politics and his comments are beyond despicable.

“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.”

Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour deputy leader, said: “We should never forget the events of that day, or the devastation it brought. To so callously dismiss what happened at Dunblane is appalling. Rupert Lowe should immediately do the right thing and apologise.”

The massacre at Dunblane shocked the nation and led to the UK enforcing some of the strictest firearms legislation in the world. John Major’s government introduced a ban on most handguns in 1997, which was widened to include all cartridge ammunition handguns by Tony Blair’s Labour government later that year.

A Restore Britain spokesman said: “Rupert was clearly referring to one incident.”