§ 9. Mr. Farrasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he is satisfied that the mobile equipment available for security purposes in Northern Ireland is adequate; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. David HowellI am satisfied that the mobile equipment used by the Royal Ulster Constabulary is fully adequate for the Force's security role. There are effective arrangements for reviewing police requirements in the light of changing needs.
Army equipment is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Defence.
§ Mr. FarrHow many soldiers have been killed or wounded in Army personnel carriers which have been in use until recently, and how long is it since the Army was first aware that the Irish Republican Army possessed bullets which would penetrate these carriers?
§ Mr. HowellThese are questions for my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Defence. There is a later Question about these specific matters, and I must leave my right hon. Friend the Minister of State to answer that question.
§ Mr. WilkinsonIs my right hon. Friend aware that the best mobile equipment for security forces is the law-enforcement agent of the Crown himself on his own feet on the beat?
Reverting to Question No. 2, will my right hon. Friend bear in mind that in every counter-insurgency situation since the war it has nearly always been the locally-recruited indigenous forces of law and order that have been essential for restoring the situation? Therefore, will he, looking to the longer term, do his best to build up locally-recruited law-enforcement agencies in Ulster?
§ Mr. HowellThere is validity in what my hon. Friend says, but we must reconcile what is desirable with what is possible.