Out of control dog attacks people in Birmingham...

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The American bully was bred as a companion dog but a level of dog-to-dog aggression is apparently characteristic of the breed. It's a powerful animal whose parent breed was the American Pit Bull Terrier and its bloodlines also include American and English bull dogs and the Olde English Bulldogge. 

With proper breeding and good training, this dog should be a nice companion. Ill-bred, improperly trained American Bully dogs can be an uncontrollable force. It's the owners who need education about the breed (the better to avoid being hoodwinked by unscrupulous breeders), and training in how to train and manage these powerful animals. 
I would like to see some sort of license requirement for people who want to own breeds like this. In my opinion, training should be required so that owners can demonstrate their ability to keep a powerful breed like this under voice control.

Rottweiler, Bullmastiff, German Shepherd they are all powerful dogs, even smaller breeds like Bull Terriers are powerful dogs. We cant ban them all, nor should we. In my opinion the penalties for irresponsible dog owners should be more severe. I'm not a fan of bringing back dog licences because only responsible law abiding dog owners will bother with them and they're not the problem. 

The problem with the "punish the irresponsible owner" narrative is that the damage has already been done.

I'm a dog owner, but I really can't see the point in ordinary people owning big powerful dogs. The issue is not whether you think they are aggressive or not, the issue is the amount of damage the dog can inflict, and can you actually stop the dog if it decides to attack somebody (or yourself).

I have a similar story, we used to have a beautiful Rotty, she was the friendliest dog in the world and liked nothing more than to play with the kids in the garden. On the other hand my brother had a nasty snappy little Jack Russell that would attack anyone who stepped into his house. I warned my brother more than once that if it went for my feet one more time I'd convert the bloody thing through the window.

You cant see the point in 'ordinary people' owning large powerful dogs! I don't quite follow, what sort of people in your opinion should own large powerful dogs? 

Would you describe a Labrador as a large powerful dog?

I couldn't agree more, all dogs but particularly large dogs definately need to be properly socialised and trained at an early age. Someone who doesn't have the time or patience to do this should obviously not have any dog, particularly a large dog. Problem is the kind of people who choose pitbull/bully type dogs use them as a weapon or a badge of honour. What's to be done about these people? I don't know, but it seems unfair to penalise a dog or a responsible owner because of the dogs breed.