West Yorkshire's new Chief Constable, Colin Cramphorn, says that the police are happy to do more to tackle gun crime in the county but if they did the public would have to expect fewer resources being put into fighting other areas of crime. He also says that West Yorkshire has a good record on gun crime, particularly compared with other large metropolitan districts such as the West Midlands and Greater Manchester.

He is right on both counts, but that is not the message that the public wants to hear today. The terrible murder of Tasawar Hussain - a brave father who reacted like many of the public-spirited citizens who provide hope for the future of our society - has sent a shockwave of disgust through the whole community of this city and yet again has cast Bradford in a bad light to the wider world.

All our thoughts at the moment are with Mr Hussain's family, and particularly his pregnant wife and young child. Our immediate reaction is of course firstly to want the killer hunted down and secondly to bring the might of the law down on the heads of those who infest our society with the horrors of gun violence.

But as Mr Cramphorn points out, the police just don't have the resources to extend their efforts further in this direction while also meeting the constant public demands for high-visibility policing.

The answer lies with the Government, which must provide yet more resources to tackle crime at every level. We don't believe there is anyone in Bradford today who would not support the T&A's call, made regularly over the last ten years, for an increase in income tax to pay specifically for the fight against crime.