Guns don’t kill people, goes the adage of those cuddly loons at the NRA, but politicians with harebrained schemes might.

Well, not quite, but that’s how it might seem to anyone listening to the plans of our Police and Crime Commissioner, Alison Hernandez, when she gave her two cents on civilians taking up arms to confront terrorists.

While Ms Hernandez has claimed she is being “misrepresented,” it sure does seem like she thought it would be fine for gun owners to use their firearms when threatened - and she seemed keen to get Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer on board in “challenging” times.

But really it’s not surprising that Ms Hernandez - recently cleared of Tory electoral fraud - has been criticised by former officers, and seen her own force distance itself from her comments.

It’s all well and good saying the ‘good’ guys should be allowed to have guns, but who decides? Overwhelming evidence shows that the more guns in a society, the more shootings, and not just of terrorists - who the police will find it more difficult to target if everyone is waving a weapon - but bystanders, cases of mistaken identity, and so on. There is a reason firearms are left to the professionals.

This isn’t even considering the fact that a more laissez faire attitude to gun control will make it easier for criminals to buy and use weapons.

Most British police don’t even carry firearms, so a blind-eye approach to armed vigilantes would be utter madness.