UK Blank Firer Legislation Update [February 2026]
- Carter Ferguson
- 11 minutes ago
- 3 min read
This largely affects theatre productions and live events but is relevant to anyone working in the UK film, TV or theatre who uses blank-firing weapons as props.
NB Not all blank firers are affected. Please read.
Following NCA testing, several additional blank-firing models, this time Italian-manufactured Bruni pistols, have been classified as prohibited under the Firearms Act 1968, assessed as "readily convertible" under s.1(6) of the Firearms Act 1982. A UK Blank Firer Legislation surrender amnesty is in place from 2–27 February 2026.
Newly Prohibited: Bruni Models (UK Blank Firer Legislation February 2026 Amnesty)
8mm PAK Bruni BBM Model 92 blank-firing self-loading pistol
8mm PAK Bruni BBM New Police blank-firing self-loading pistol
8mm PAK Bruni BBM Model 96 blank-firing self-loading pistol
8mm PAK Bruni BBM Model "GAP" blank-firing self-loading pistol
.380R (9mmK) PAK Bruni BBM ME Ranger single-action blank-firing revolver
Images courtesy of: https://news.npcc.police.uk/
Previously Prohibited: Turkish-Manufactured TVBFs (February 2025 Amnesty)
The following brands were banned in 2025 and remain illegal to possess:
Retay
Ekol
Ceonic / Ceonic ISSC
Blow
If you still hold any of these Turkish models, the Metropolitan Police will accept them during the current February 2026 amnesty period.
How to Surrender
London (up to 5 items): Take to your local police station, or contact TVBF-AMNESTY@met.police.uk to arrange collection for larger quantities.
Outside London:Â Call 101Â for advice from your local force.
Scotland:Â Check with your local force for separate guidance.
Northern Ireland:Â Contact PSNI Firearms and Explosives Branch.
Key Points
No compensation is available for surrendered items.
During the amnesty you do not need to give your details when surrendering.
Note: any live firearms handed in will be checked against crime records.
Possession after 27 February may result in up to 10 years imprisonment.
Importers and retailers have been instructed to cease trading these models; Border Force will seize future imports.
The amnesty covers England and Wales.
Personal Opinion
The criminal exploitation is real. Since 2021, over 800 blank firers have been illegally converted into functioning firearms, outpacing discharges from genuine lethal weapons in a single year and linked to four homicides. This is a legitimate public safety concern. But the solution is lazy.
ACC Tim Metcalfe stated publicly that Bruni models are "not currently being converted at the same scale as Turkish models", meaning this ban is precautionary rather than a response to demonstrated large-scale misuse. The impact on legitimate users is identical either way.
Professional theatrical armouries and armourers are already the most accountable end of this market. Weapons are inventoried, supervised, transported securely, and returned after use. The converted weapons turning up in criminal investigations are not coming from film sets or theatre props stores, they're coming from bulk retail purchases made online and in shops by people who had no business connection to the arts whatsoever. When the Turkish amnesty closed that window, criminals may have moved over to Bruni for their purchases. The police admit this openly... and the cycle will continue.
A proportionate response would be a licensed professional exemption with secure storage requirements. The kind of framework already applied to pyrotechnics and firearms certificates. You'd simply be formalising what responsible armouries already do informally. Instead, the industry gets a blanket ban because nuanced policy is harder to write than a press release.
The arts sector is always collateral damage from a retail loophole it had no part in creating, and is now losing tools based on what criminals might do rather than what they've actually done with these specific models.
Final Warning
With that said, none of this matters now. It's too late. When the government makes these sweeping changes they go all in and, in my extensive experience, they never make concessions for the arts. You just have to look at the blanket smoking ban that stopped all smoking in theatre shows, and continues to be a great loss with shows like Smoking with Lulu effectively now banned due to smoking content.
So, the law has changed. Whatever the merits of the argument, possession of these weapons after 27 February 2026 is a criminal offence. No amount of professional justification will help you if you're still holding a prohibited model in March.
Surrender anything on the prohibited list now, through the correct channels, before 27 February 2026. No exceptions.
The armourers I work with regularly in Scotland include Perry Costello, Scott Rogers, John Fearnley, and Jim Elliot. All are experienced professionals with extensive film, TV and theatre credits.
Sources: Equity / Metropolitan Police / NPCC. Further information: Firearms Licensing Law — gov.uk