James Bond used as defense excuse in UK gun trial

A man accused of buying 90 replica guns and converting them into live weapons told an arms dealer they were needed for a James Bond film, a court heard - reports the BBC.

Grant Wilkinson, 34, used a fake name to buy replica Mac-10 submachine guns, Reading Crown Court was told on Friday.

He and co-defendant Gary Lewis, 38, are accused of converting the guns, which went on to be used in eight murders.

The firearms were linked with a total of 51 incidents, the prosecution say. Both defendants deny the charges.

Most of the incidents were in the Greater London area, with four in Birmingham and one in Manchester.

Guy Savage, a director at Sabre Defence Industries firearms dealership in Northolt, Middlesex, told the court that Wilkinson ordered guns worth £55,000 in July 2004.

"We had supplied identical guns to someone working on the film GoldenEye so it seemed a reasonable order.

"He said some of the other prop hire companies were interested in getting some."

An agreement was made for Mr Wilkinson to pick up the guns in batches of about 10 over the coming months, said Mr Savage.

But he said he became suspicious of Mr Wilkinson, who he described as "desperately disorganised" and "lacking confidence", and on one of his visits secretly took a photograph of him.

"He was acting in a way that made the hair on the back of your neck stand up," Mr Savage told the court.

The image was later handed to police investigating the case.

Officers discovered an alleged gun factory in sheds at The Briars on Basingstoke Road, Three Mile Cross, near Reading, after the tenants at the property raised the alarm last July.

The premises were used by the defendants to modify the weapons, the jury was told.

The court heard how police found evidence of 11 guns at the Reading address, and buried at another location, in Wooburn Green, Buckinghamshire.

A video was shown to the jury of one of the guns found test fired by police.

Mr Lewis, of Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, and Mr Wilkinson, of no fixed abode, deny charges of conspiracy to convert imitation firearms, conspiracy to sell or transfer firearms and conspiracy to sell or transfer ammunition.

They also deny two counts of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life, two counts of possession of a prohibited weapon and two counts of possession of ammunition with intent to endanger life.

The case continues.

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