The thing about the MOD being concerned about if they were to sell weapons to reputable U.K. dealers they may get sold onto criminals to use for unlawful purposes doesn't really make sense to me. U.K. dealers are purchasing weapons all the time from other sources other than the MOD and a criminal who decides to purchase a weapon for unlawful purposes is not likely, in my opinion, to be too bothered on where the dealer sources it from. No reputable U.K. dealer that I know of would ever supply a weapon to anyone who they believed may use it for any unlawful purposes. All the reputable, well known U.K. dealers that I have ever dealt with over the years have always been as straight as a Die and conducted their business in a very straight-forward business like and lawful manner. One very well known dealer told me that he believed the reason was that if the press got hold of the story that the MOD were selling weapons to U.K. dealers they would have a field-day.