Image copyright 20th Century Fox Image caption Taken 3 sees Neeson's ex-CIA agent Bryan Mills framed for the murder of a loved one

The firearms company that provided the guns for Liam Neeson's Hollywood movie Taken 3 has criticised the star for his comments about US gun laws.

PARA USA said it "regrets" working with Neeson after he said the proliferation of guns in the US was a "disgrace".

The company added that it would cut ties with the Taken franchise and urged other companies to do the same.

"There's just too many... guns out there," Neeson told Dubai's Gulf News last week. "Especially in America."

He continued: "I think the population is like, 320 million? There's over 300 million guns. Privately owned, in America.

"I think it's a disgrace. Every week now we're picking up a newspaper and seeing, 'Yet another few kids have been killed in schools.'"

Neeson made his comments in reply to a question about the Charlie Hebdo shootings in Paris earlier in the month.

The star, who took on the role of ex-CIA operative Bryan Mills in all three Taken films, said the gun problem was not connected to Hollywood's action movies.

'Factual ignorance'

"I grew up watching cowboy movies, loved doing that [gun gesture] with my fingers, 'Bang, bang, you're dead!' I didn't end up a killer," he said.

"A character like Bryan Mills going out with guns and taking revenge: it's fantasy."

PARA USA said Neeson's comments reflected a "cultural and factual ignorance that undermines support of the Second Amendment and American liberties".

On their Facebook page, the company added: "We will no longer provide firearms for use in films starring Liam Neeson and ask that our friends and partners in Hollywood refrain from associating our brand and products with his projects."

The latest film in the action Taken franchise, which sees Neeson's ex-CIA agent framed for the murder of a loved one, has topped the box office charts in both the US and the UK.