The father of one of the victims of the Dunblane massacre has called on the Prime Minister to ensure the UK "remains strong" during global talks to crack down on the arms trade.

Dr Mick North made the plea to David Cameron as the campaign for an international Arms Trade Treaty reaches its final stages.

Dr North's five-year-old daughter Sophie was among 16 children and a teacher killed in the shooting at Dunblane Primary School in March 1996. He has campaigned for tighter firearm controls ever since and from 2009 to 2011 he was the chair of the International Action Network on Small Arms.

The governments of 153 countries have been working towards a global arms trade treaty since 2006, with final negotiations due to be held at the United Nations in July. A preliminary UN meeting in New York will set the agenda for the final talks.

Oxfam and Amnesty International will hold an event in Glasgow on Monday to mark the start of the UN meeting. Among the speakers will be David Grimason, from Edinburgh, whose two-year-old son Alistair was shot dead in a Turkish cafe in July 2003.

Dr North said: "The UK has a proud record of reacting with aid in times of famine or flood. We should be equally proud of our role to date in securing effective control over the trade in arms. 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. Any weakening of our stance will be seen as a betrayal to those hundreds of thousands of victims who suffer armed violence every day."

Mr Grimason said: "It is incredible to think that we may finally be on the brink of delivering something that will prevent the devastating impact that the arms trade has on families around the world.

"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.

"Every day more than 1,500 people die from armed violence, the majority of these in countries which are not at war. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to really make a difference to the lives of so many. We have one shot, we must not squander it."