Mother criticises Panorama over £50 gun boy payment

THE mother of a boy who was paid £50 by a fixer to flaunt guns on Panorama and jailed after his father recognised him behind a balaclava has criticised the BBC.

Stephen Hooton, now 29, was 16 when the Young Gunmen programme aired on BBC One in 2008.

It explored the horrors of gun crime among young teenagers in the wake of an 11-year-old boy’s death.

In footage filmed in Liverpool, Hooton was seen waving around a shotgun and a handgun, saying: “I take no s---. If the beef [police] comes down here, they get blasted, lad.”

Despite Hooton wearing a balaclava and a cap in front of the cameras, his father recognised him on the show and reported him to police. He was jailed in 2009 for possession of firearms.

The court heard evidence that the guns did not belong to him, but he was given £50 to pick up the guns and show them off to camera by a fixer paid to arrange interviews for the documentary.

There is no evidence that the BBC knew about the payment.

However, Hooton’s mother Linda has questioned whether producers did enough to prevent the fixer from involving her son. She said: “He was just a boy.

‘We have always said the BBC did not make payments to the gunman. [We] fully complied with guidelines’

It was wrong what they [the BBC] did. It was disgusting. There were kids being offered money.

“Stephen’s no angel. I’m his mum and I can say that. But I still love him to death. Doing the documentary and going to prison sent him off the rails. It really knocked him off the rails.”

A friend added: “The guns weren’t even his. He just went and got them because he was asked to do it for a bit of money and to show off about the Marsh

Gang. Then he went to jail. Everything changed for him after going to prison. It wasn’t fair. He was set up.”

A BBC spokesman said: “We have always said that the BBC did not make any payments to the gunman. The programme fully complied with the BBC’S editorial guidelines. The BBC and its journalists cooperated fully with Merseyside Police in connection with this matter.”

Last month, Hooton was jailed for five years and two months at Liverpool Crown Court for his role in a series of burglaries.