Grant Wilkinson was told he would serve a minimum of 11 years for converting replica Mac-10 sub-machine guns into real weapons

Grant Wilkinson was told he would serve a minimum of 11 years for converting replica Mac-10 sub-machine guns into real weapons and selling them to the criminal underworld.The judge who jailed the 33-year-old suggested that the Government might consider reviewing legislation to counter "endemic" gun crime.The sub-machine guns were made in shabby sheds converted into a workshop and test firing range at The Briars in Three Mile Cross.They were later used in at least 51 shootings and eight murders, including that of Michael Dosonmu, an innocent 15-year-old who was shot in his bedroom in Peckham, South London.Another of the guns was recovered from a vehicle in Birmingham and was later proved to have been fired at the robbery which led to the fatal shooting of Wpc Sharon Beshinevsky in Bradford.Prosecuter John Price said it was estimated that between 30 and 40 of the guns were still on the streets of Britain and that fatal shootings and injuries involving them would continue for several years.Sentencing Wilkinson today at Reading Crown Court, Judge Zoe Smith said the factory had led to an increase in the use of Mac-10s in gun crime since it was started in 2004, and added: "The continued increase in the roll call of death and injuries is inevitable."Defending, Abdullah Al-Yunusi, said his client could not be considered a serious risk of committing similar offences again.
Judge Smith said after his release Wilkinson would remain on licence for the rest of his life and could be recalled to prison at any time."This court knows from its own experience that gun crime has become endemic and it may be that the Government would wish to review this part of the legislation as a matter of urgency."