THE Duke of Edinburgh's outspoken criticism of the Government's gun curbs was last night gathering public support despite an outcry from MPs and the people of Dunblane. Earlier, the Duke said he was sorry for any offence or distress caused by his remarks.
But he stood by his opinion that gun club members should not be penalised for the actions of a deranged gunman who shot dead 16 children and their teacher at a Dunblane school.
The Duke had said. "There's no evidence that people who use weapons for sport are any more dangerous than people who use golf clubs or tennis racquets or cricket bats."
MPs denounced the Duke as crass and "insensitive".
But public opinion began to swing in his favour. A BBC Radio 5 live poll on The Magazine programme showed 68 per cent (2,784 callers) agreed with the Duke's comments, while 32 per cent (1,304) disagreed.
The Duke won overwhelming support among almost 10,000 GMTV viewers who phoned the programme's telephone poll hotline.
Buckingham Palace stated. "Prince Philip had no intention whatsoever of causing offence or distress to anyone and he is sorry if he has done so."