Hollywood star and pro-gun campaigner Charlton Heston yesterday insisted that the latest US gun massacre would not persuade Americans to give up the right to bear arms.

His impassioned defence of America's liberal gun laws came a day after the Atlanta killings.

The 75-year-old actor, who is president of the National Rifle Association, said: "The right to bear arms is enshrined in the American constitution.

"It is not a question of taking people's guns away, but of making sure that those who commit crimes are prosecuted and punished," he said.

Speaking in London during a Cancer Research charity event, he claimed guns could prevent crime by acting as a deterrent.

"The availability of firearms is not a factor. The number in America has remained constant since 1950 and crime rates are falling.

"What happened in Atlanta was terrible, but you cannot blame the gun for what happened, only the person who carried out the killings."

He added: "Americans are not going to give up their rights to firearms. It is in the constitution and that will not change."

Heston campaigned vigorously against tighter gun laws even after 12 students and a teacher died in a mass killing by two heavily armed pupils at Columbine high school in Littleton, Colorado.

Heston, famed for his movie roles in Ben Hur, the Ten Commandants and Planet of the Apes, and his wife, Lydia are currently starring together in a West End play, Love Letters, at the Haymarket Theatre.