I was glad to learn that  the person responsible for importing the dangerous laser pen that caused permanent damage to Jonathan Marshall's eye has been sentenced to 24 weeks community service by St Albans Magistrates' Court. I have just been on BBC Three Counties radio discussing the Court case and the steps that I believe the Government needs to take. Please follow link to listen to me being interviewed (I am on between 1:25:25 and 1:29:30: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03zr77y

Jonathan Marshall, a nine year old from Bushey purchased a laser pen at a school Christmas fair in Radlett last December. The pen was labelled as having a maximum output of 1 mW (milliwatt) but tests have proven that the devise had a beam power over one hundred times the legal limit. After playing with the pen Jonathan suffered permanent damage to his eye and had to be treated at Moorfields Eye Hospital.

Since being made aware of Jonathan's case I have worked closely with his mother, Angela Marshall, to raise awareness about the dangers of these pens and to call for the Government to put in place more robust safeguards. Two months ago I met with the former Minister for Consumer Protection, Anna Soubry MP, to express my concerns. Following the sentencing of the individual responsible for importing 300 of the dangerous pens from China. I am now calling for these pens to be classed as "offensive weapons". This would give police offices the powers they need to stop and search those they believed were carrying handheld lasers and to make arrests, even if they had not witnessed them being used.