§ Lord Orr-Ewingasked Her Majesty's Government:
What progress has been made in the search for a solution to the problem of the Argentinian mines in the Falklands.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces (Lord Trefgarne)The research programme instituted in 1982 to find a safe and effective means of dealing with the Argentinian minefields has so far not produced a solution to the Argentinian FMK 1 plastic anti-personnel mine. We are, however, continuing with the work and will be 1449WA pursuing some encouraging possibilities that came out of the earlier research programme, and which may also have a useful military application. In the meantime, in order to avoid any further risks to the engineers, there will be no further attempts to clear the minefields, which will be left fenced.