Alex Salmond and the Scottish Executive were last night accused of "getting ahead of themselves" after suggesting Whitehall was sympathetic to Holyrood making new laws on gun crime in Scotland.

The Home Office was said to be "peeved" that on the day it was publicising its firearms "drop-off zones" south of the border in the wake of the fatal shooting of 11-year-old Rhys Jones on Merseyside, the Scottish Executive had chosen to express publicly its hopes for Scotland-only gun laws.

At Westminster, the Tories turned up the heat on Gordon Brown's government, accusing it of appearing "paralysed" on gun crime, pointing to Home Office figures which showed deaths and injuries from gun attacks in England and Wales had risen from 864 in 1998/99 to 3821 last year. Since the start of 2007, eight young people have lost their lives in shootings: six in London; one in Manchester and the latest in Liverpool.

Jack Straw, Westminster's Justice Secretary, while acknowledging there had been a "very worrying" increase, insisted the figures were now coming down as a result of action by the government and the police over the past three years. "It is still far too high, which is why there isn't the least complacency about the action that has to be taken," he said.

However, Tory leader David Cameron accused Mr Straw of mouthing "self-satisfied comments" and said the government was "in denial".

In Scotland, official figures show gun crime has dropped, but the number of attempted murders using guns increased from 20 in 2004/05 to 35 in 2005/06 as overall firearm offences dropped from 1136 to 1068.

The Herald was told that when Mr Straw met the First Minister on July 13, the issue of airguns was raised and the Secretary of State urged Mr Salmond to write to him about the issue, which he did. A week later, Kenny MacAskill, Holyrood's Justice Secretary, met Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, and Vernon Coaker, her ministerial colleague.

Yesterday, a spokesman for the First Minister insisted the executive's desire for Scotland-only firearms legislation was "unconnected" to Rhys Jones's fatal shooting but it gave "added significance" to dealing with Scotland's weapons culture.

He said: "There has been constructive dialogue between Scottish ministers and their Westminster counterparts on enabling the Scots Parliament to lay a framework for a consolidated Firearms Act designed for Scottish needs and circumstances.

"This is an area where we would like to secure progress as soon as possible as we would wish early legislation and the response has been understanding and sympathetic."

However, a senior Whitehall source accused the executive of spin, saying: "They're getting ahead of themselves." He added: "It's a complex area. The government is serious about tackling gun crime but the executive appear to be over-reaching themselves.

"We're not closing anything off and it is being considered but different legislation is premature to say the least," added the source.

Allowing Scotland to have separate firearms laws would, in effect, be a reversal of the Sewel Convention, whereby Edinburgh consents to London legislating for Scotland on a devolved issue; allowing Holyrood to legislate on a reserved matter would be a political landmark and would almost certainly lead to similar calls from the SNP government in other areas of policy.

Last night, a Home Office spokeswoman pointed out that a new UK-wide law on gun crime was enacted only last November, many of whose provisions only come into effect on October 1.

"We believe we should see how the new measures in the Violent Crime Reduction Act work out before considering any further controls." She added the new measures were "partly in response to circumstances in Scotland".

In March, two families of airgun victims handed a petition to Holyrood seeking a ban on personal ownership of handguns. Des Browne, Scottish Secretary, made clear the government was aware of the issues raised by ministers at Holyrood and would work with them as a priority to ensure safety for all communities across the UK. However, he noted that talks with the executive were "at an early stage". He added: "It is self-evident to say it is in everyone's interests to have effective legislation governing the circulation and use of weapons such as airguns in order to safeguard the public."

A Scottish Executive source reiterated last night that they thought there was "sympathy" in Whitehall for the SNP's desire to legislate for Scotland, that ministers at Holyrood remain optimistic they will win the power to do so.