BRITAIN'S most senior police chiefs are meeting today for a major conference on gun crime.

The Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) is to meet in Birmingham to discuss plans for a national strategy to tackle illegal firearms.

Keith Bristow, chief constable of Warwickshire Police and the Acpo lead on the issue, will outline the strategy.

The conference is a private affair, but Acpo is expected to release details at a briefing this afternoon.

Mr Bristow took over the portfolio for Acpo only a few months ago. Tackling the scourge of gun crime is a priority for the police service.

The meeting comes in the wake of a number of high-profile gun incidents, including the shooting of two youths in a McDonald's restaurant in south London, and the gangland-style murder of Manchester teenager Jessie James, which Greater Manchester Police described as a "watershed moment".

Thousands of mourners turned out on Tuesday for the funeral of the 15-year-old, who was killed just three months after a 45-year-old man was shot dead on the same street in Moss Side.