A new offence of supplying a firearm will be introduced to tackle people who hire out weapons to gangs, Home Secretary Theresa May has said.
Ms May told the BBC those supplying guns were "as guilty" as those using them.
The maximum sentence for the offence will be life imprisonment.
It is one of a number of measures to be outlined by David Cameron on Monday in a speech on crime.
In his first major speech on the issue since becoming prime minister, Mr Cameron is expected to pledge a "tough but intelligent" approach to law and order.
Labour MP Keith Vaz, who chairs the cross-party Home Affairs Committee, welcomed the move but the change must be made in consultation with the police.
The government is looking to regain the initiative after a difficult week dominated by the resignation of the Chief Whip, Andrew Mitchell.
No 10's handling of Mr Mitchell's departure, five weeks after a confrontation with a police officer outside Downing Street, has been questioned by Conservative MPs and peers.
The prime minister has also been criticised for confusion over the government's energy policy and fresh accusations that senior ministers are out of touch with the public.
Sterile debateAdam Fleming BBC News political correspondent
David Cameron's crime speech has been a long time in the writing.
No 10 has hinted for months that the prime minister's first major address on law and order was just around the corner.
Other things always seemed to get in the way.
Perhaps that is why a lot of the measures that have been briefed to the papers seem quite familiar.
We knew that payment by results for cutting reoffending was being extended.
The new gun-running offence has been on the cards since earlier in the year.
Therefore it's more interesting for what it tells us about the prime minister's instincts in this area.
Gone are the very 2005-ish ideas of showing more love to young offenders.
In, instead, is the very 2012-ish idea of being tough on crime.
Monday's speech will be an attempt to end what he will characterise as a sterile debate between those who call for tougher sentencing and others who want to see more rehabilitation of offenders and say that "retribution isn't a dirty word".
Ahead of the speech, Mrs May confirmed that gun-runners who supply lethal weapons to gangsters could be given life sentences, telling the BBC's Sunday Politics show the actions of those individuals needed to be treated more seriously.
"We know there are middle men, who have firearms that they then rent out to criminals who then use them.
"There isn't at the moment an offence for someone to possess a firearm with the intent to supply it to someone else.
"I think it is right that we introduce that offence, because those people who are supplying the firearms are as guilty as the people using them when it comes to the impact."
Mr Vaz said: "We have to make sure the law is very strong when people decide to sell firearms illegally or give firearms for other people to use illegally," he said. "This will send out a very strong message to those involved in criminal activity."
However, a document produced by the Home Office earlier this year questioned the effectiveness of a new offence on possession with intent to supply weapons.
The document, produced as part of a consultation on the issue, said as many as 20 offenders could be affected each year. It said evidence on whether it would reduce firearms offences by acting as a deterrent was "mixed".
It said any reduction in gun offences was likely to be temporary, with the gap in the firearms market "likely to be filled by other individuals".
'Undermining police'On Monday, the prime minister is also expected to announce that a payment by results system for private companies will be expanded and the practice of giving all prisoners £46 in cash when they are released from prison may be ended.
Labour say that, far from being tough on crime, the government was cutting 15,000 police officers, curbing the use of CCTV cameras and "watering down" regulations on the use of DNA in criminal investigations.
Ex-Met Police Commissioner Lord Blair, who is now a cross-bench peer, said there was little of substance in the government's approach
"When you look at what they are actually doing, with the exception of something...about people carrying guns getting a longer sentence, there is not that much. It is just an effort to get away from this story on privilege."
The speech comes after the prime minister replaced Ken Clarke with Chris Grayling as justice secretary in September's reshuffle, a move widely interpreted as a shift to the right.
Mr Grayling has already announced plans to toughen community sentences and give householders who react with force when confronted by burglars more legal protection.
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