Dr Mick North and David Grimason back gun treaty campaign

The fathers of two murdered children have helped launch a campaign to call for tighter global gun sale controls.

Oxfam and Amnesty International staged an event in Glasgow to press the case for a "strong" arms trade treaty.

Those taking part included David Grimason, from Edinburgh, whose two-year-old son Alistair was shot dead in a Turkish cafe in July 2003.

Dr Mick North, whose five-year-old daughter Sophie died in the Dunblane shooting, is also backing the calls.

He has campaigned for tighter gun controls since the massacre at the primary school in March 1996.

The event in Glasgow coincided with a preliminary meeting in New York, which will set the agenda for United Nations talks in July.

These negotiations will aim to finalise a global arms trade treaty which the governments of 153 countries have been working towards since 2006.

'Remain strong'

Mr Grimason, who has spent almost a decade calling for tighter controls on the trade, said it was essential that governments around the world worked together.

He said: "After nearly a decade of governments saying that something must be done, now is the time to finally do it.

"It is up to our politicians to ensure that they put people's lives ahead of profit, but it is also up to the people of Scotland to make their voices heard and demand that the UK is at the forefront of championing a comprehensive treaty on the sales and transfer of weapons."

Dr North said: "Over the next few months the UK's voice must remain strong, consistent and direct.

"We've come too far to weaken our stance and I want Prime Minister David Cameron to ensure that the UK remains fully committed to securing a strong treaty."