Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella has signed a decree which eases restrictions on people carrying legal firearms in public.

De la Espriella, who during his campaign for the presidency promised to take an iron-fist approach to crime, said it was “not right that criminals are armed to the teeth while decent people can’t defend themselves”.

The decree lifts a suspension that had been in force for a decade, which meant that even those in possession of a permit to carry guns could not do so without additional authorisation.

De la Espriella insisted that the decree would not create a free-for-all and that tight controls over who can own a gun would remain in place.

While signing the decree, the president said he had made good on his campaign promise: “A man’s word is his honour, and I have honour, that’s why I keep my word.”

The restriction on carrying legal guns in public was brought in by the then-President Juan Manuel Santos in December 2015. It was originally meant to be a temporary measure, aimed at improving security during the Christmas and New Year festivities.

But the suspension was extended yearly by Santos and two subsequent presidents from opposing sides of the political spectrum: conservative Iván Duque and left-wing Gustavo Petro.

Under the law, even those with a permit to carry a gun could not take it out of their homes unless they applied for – and were granted – additional authorisation.

De la Espriella has insisted that his decree has removed a restriction which had never been meant to be permanent.

According to Spanish newspaper El País, the decree will affect almost 700,000 people in Colombia who are already in possession of a legal permit to carry a gun.

They will now be able to take their registered gun out of their home, provided their permits remain up to date.

Green Alliance Party Senator Ariel Ávila described the move as a “grave error”, arguing that legally held guns would end up in the hands of criminals.

Ávila insisted that it created an ethical dilemma, as it should only be state forces that carry guns and act as guarantors of people’s security.

De la Espriella insisted that the measure would not negatively affect security in the country and said forces were targeting those holding illegal guns and had seized more than 15,000 firearms so far this year.

Most of them, according to de la Espriella, belonged to members of breakaway factions of the Farc rebel group and the Gulf Clan criminal gang.