Britain's Prime Minister, Tony Blair, has said there should be harsher punishments for possessing guns.
He was speaking after a spate of gun attacks in London, including the deaths of three teenage boys.
Another man was shot dead in London yesterday, while three others were wounded in shootings in Manchester.
Mr Blair has ordered a review of gun laws to help police deal with inner-city gang culture.
He is considering proposals including lowering the age at which the mandatory five-year sentence for carrying a gun can be imposed from 21 to 17.
Speaking on BBC Television's Sunday AM, Mr Blair acknowledged there was a 'real problem' but said gun crime - and violent crime in general - fell in London over the past year.
He said the problem was not one with British young people in general, but 'a specific problem within a specific criminal culture to do with guns and gangs'.
Mr Blair said it was necessary to 'clamp down very hard' on young people within this group 'who are getting into gangs at an early age and using guns'.
