SKB, I lived in England for 14 years, started my "shooting" career there. I left when the police refused to renew my shotgun certificate because I could not produce a written agreement showing that I had the shooting rights over some piece of private land. Public land did not count as no shooting is allowed there.
The certificate having lapsed, due to their delay, I was told that if I moved the guns out of the house to a shop to sell I would be arrested for illegal possession. A "kind" police sergeant agreed to buy my guns. We agreed on a price, he picked them and handed me a folded check. I did not look at it, he was a trustworthy police officer. The check was for a lot less than we agreed.
We each have our experiences in life. Mine lead me to smile when I read a comment attributed to Bob Brister "if you have not been diddled by an Englishman, you haven't lived"
As a lawyer you should be aware that there is no requirement in law in the UK to have any agreement ,written or unwritten ,showing shooting rights or permission over private land as a prerequisite to qualify for having a shotgun certificate. I fail to see how a person of good standing would be refused a certificate as that is quite unusual.
I think there is more to this tale than meets the eye and it maybe the case that the Chief Constable considered you unfit to possess and your subsequent experience with the sergeants who showed you little respect may reinforce that conclusion.
