§ Mr. Dennis Canavan (Falkirk, West)I beg to move,
That leave be given to bring in a Bill to prohibit the use of plastic bullets in the United Kingdom.On Easter Monday in Portadown, Northern Ireland, Keith White was struck on the head by a plastic bullet fired by a member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary. His death a fortnight later brought to 16 the total number of people killed by plastic or rubber bullets used by the security forces in Northern Ireland. Hundreds more have suffered serious injury. A Minister from the Northern Ireland Office told me on the Floor of the House last Thursday that, since the Government started collating official statistics on these injuries, since 17 March 1981, 326 people have suffered serious injuries. There had been many more before that. The casualties include people who have been blinded, people who have been paralysed and people who have suffered brain damage.Most disturbing of all, perhaps, is the fact that most of the victims have been children or young people, many of them completely innocent of riotous behaviour; for example, Francis Rowntree, aged 11, who died in April 1972; Stephen Geddis, aged 10, who died in August 1975; Brian Stewart, aged 10, who died in October 1976; Paul Whitters, aged 15, who died in April 1981; Julie Livingstone, aged 14, who died in May 1981; Carol Ann Kelly, aged 12, who died in the same month; and Stephen McConomy, aged 11, who died in April 1982.
Ministers, senior Army officers and senior police officers euphemistically refer to plastic bullets as "baton rounds", but this euphemism does not detract from their lethal nature. Indeed, no one should be surprised at their lethal nature. I have one here which I can show to the House. It is about 4 in. long and 1.5 in. in diameter and weighs over 4 oz. In weight and hardness, it has been likened to a cricket ball, but, of course, its cylindrical shape makes it more lethal on impact. We must also remember that the muzzle velocity is over 160 mph—more than twice as fast as the fastest of fast bowlers. The impact energy of a plastic bullet is 210 ft/lb at 5 yd and over 110 ft/lb at a distance of 50 yd.
Accurate research done by the United States army in the 1970s—research, by the way, which was done by maiming and killing poor dumb animals—indicated that impact energy of over 120 ft/lb invariably resulted in either death or severe critical injury. So the evidence that these weapons are lethal has existed for some time.
The intended range of the plastic bullet is 35 to 70 yd, but it has been known for them to be fired at point-blank range. For example, of the death of Mrs. Mora McCabe in July 1981 reliable witnesses said that Mrs. McCabe was struck by a plastic bullet that had been fired from a range of only 2 yd.
It is obvious that, if this situation is allowed to continue in Northern Ireland, it is only a matter of time until it spreads to the rest of the United Kingdom. Plastic bullets of this kind have already been issued to 13 British police forces, the members of which presumably have been or are being trained to use them.
I admit that there are different views about the best way of controlling riots or the best way of solving the complex problems underlying riots. Until recently, in Northern Ireland, it was probably true that attitudes towards the use 151 of plastic bullets depended very much on people's political or religious views, perhaps because most, if not all, of the victims came from families of Republican tradition. But the recent tragic death of Keith White, who came from a Unionist family, has brought condemnation of the use of plastic bullets from many people in the Unionist community too.
Whatever political or religious views people have, and whatever their views on the best solution to the Northern Ireland problem and on the best way to control riots, wherever and whenever they occur, surely we can all agree that the use of lethal weapons by the security forces makes things worse rather than better. It is undeniable that plastic bullets kill and maim innocent people. How many more children and young people will have to die before the House abolishes such a barbaric practice for ever from the whole of Great Britain and Northern Ireland? I ask the House to support my Bill.
§ Mr. SpeakerDoes the hon. Gentleman seek to oppose?
§ Sir Eldon GriffithsYes, Sir.
No police officer has any desire to be armed. In fact, the most distasteful duty of the police is the duty on occasion of taking arms and using them. However, the police are entitled to look to their police authorities and ultimately to the House to provide them with all necessary means of protecting themselves and the public from the attacks of violent men. It is in that sense that I shall argue against leave being given for the hon. Member for Falkirk, West (Mr. Canavan) to introduce the Bill.
Fifteen years ago there was no need for the police to have access to baton rounds, but two dangerous developments have changed the environment in which the police today must confront violent men. The first development is the increased use of guns by criminals. The police predicted this w hen the House abolished the capital sentence, but whether that be the reason or not, the fact is that today armed criminals regularly take out and use firearms.
The second development is that too many men of violence who threaten the peace, whether at demonstrations, pickets or riots, nowadays throw petrol bombs which subject the police to terrible casualties, inflicted not at close quarters but at long range, at a distance of scores of yards. One result of this use of petrol bombs is that the police tactic of facing down mobs by body contact, by means of the thin blue line, has had to be reconsidered.
Last year 15,000 police officers were injured. That figure has been provided by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board. In these circumstances, it is asking, too much to require the police to stand there like sitting ducks while wild men throw petrol bombs at them.
It is against this background that the Association of Chief Police Officers has been examining the pros and cons of baton rounds. The association had before it, as the hon. Gentleman fairly said, the experience of the Royal Ulster Constabulary. What the RUC has discovered is that baton rounds, selectively used, can and do make riot control easier and safer. They also make it much less lethal to the police and to the rioters alike. The baton round, in fact, can and does save lives. It has done so in Northern Ireland.
152 The technical advantages of the baton round can be stated simply. First, unlike horses, gas or water cannon, the baton round is selective and discriminate. Instead of dousing large numbers of people with 'gas or water, the baton round can be used with precision against a specific individual who is hurling the petrol bombs or—as has happened—firing a gun at the police. Secondly, the baton round causes less damage than the regular firearm. There can be occasions when a dangerous criminal is cornered and it might be better to tackle him with a baton round that stuns or incapacitates than to use a rifle or a ruger that kills.
The third advantage of the baton round is that it can and does create space between the police line and the mob. That makes it impossible for the stones and the petrol bombs to carry as far as the police line and so cause vastly more casualties for the police.
The rules of engagement for the RUC, and certainly for the police on this side of the water, in respect of baton rounds, are precise. Let me remind the House of the rules for the Metropolitan police.
First, no baton round or discharger may be issued without the specific personal consent of a senior officer. Secondly, only trained marksmen may be authorised to draw baton pistols. And those officers must first have completed the full training for firearms officers, and refreshers, and they must also have completed a further course in the use of baton rounds. More importantly, no order to fire a baton round may be given in the Metropolitan police until the Commissioner — Sir Kenneth Newman personally — has given his direct consent. So far, no such order has been given. I hope that it will never be.
The House, however, is confronted with the decision whether today to give consent to the introduction of a Bill that could settle the matter for ever. If we consented to the Bill, it would mean that we had decided the issue, not on the basis of mature consideration of the evidence, not on the basis of my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary's advice, which I understand is now in preparation in the Home Office, not even on the basis of any study of this complex matter by any Committee of the House. Instead, we are invited, without even seeking, let alone listening to, the views of the police service, to settle the matter on the basis of emotion and of distaste for allowing the police access to the improved technology that they need to do their job.
I shall be interested to discover how the Opposition Front Bench vote. As one who wholeheartedly welcomes the recent Shadow Cabinet conversion to the need to condemn and contain mob violence wherever it happens, and who welcomes their desire to get rid of the anti-police militants that still disfigure the fringes of the Labour party, I hope that on this occasion they will not vote to deny the police the tools that they may need for the job.
If the motion were to be carried it would mean simply that we were saying, perhaps for all time, that the police should not have access to what could become a necessary tool for fighting terrorism as well as maintaining public order.
Voting for the motion, in the eyes of the police and. I believe, the public, would indeed be to deny the forces of law and order not a desirable, not a welcome, not even a sought-after weapon, but a means which could prove 153 necessary to defeat the forces of violence and, in the process, to save the lives and limbs of many innocent people, including policemen.
§ Question put, pursuant to Standing Order No. 15 (Motions for leave to bring in Bills and nomination of Select Committees at commencement of public business):—
§ The House divided: Ayes 85, Noes 184.
154| Division No. 170] | [3.50 pm |
| AYES | |
| Anderson, Donald | Leadbitter, Ted |
| Archer, Rt Hon Peter | Leighton, Ronald |
| Barron, Kevin | Lewis, Ron (Carlisle) |
| Bennett, A. (Dent'n & Red'sh) | McDonald, Dr Oonagh |
| Bidwell, Sydney | McGuire, Michael |
| Boyes, Roland | Mallon, Seamus |
| Bray, Dr Jeremy | Marek, Dr John |
| Buchan, Norman | Meacher, Michael |
| Callaghan, Jim (Heyw'd & M) | Mikardo, Ian |
| Campbell-Savours, Dale | Mitchell, Austin (G't Grimsby) |
| Canavan, Dennis | Morris, Rt Hon A. (W'shawe) |
| Clark, Dr David (S Shields) | Nellist, David |
| Clay, Robert | O'Neill, Martin |
| Clelland, David Gordon | Park, George |
| Clwyd, Mrs Ann | Patchett, Terry |
| Cook, Frank (Stockton North) | Pavitt, Laurie |
| Corbett, Robin | Pike, Peter |
| Cox, Thomas (Tooting) | Powell, Raymond (Ogmore) |
| Crowther, Stan | Radice, Giles |
| Davies, Ronald (Caerphilly) | Randall, Stuart |
| Davis, Terry (B'ham, H'ge H'l) | Raynsford, Nick |
| Deakins, Eric | Richardson, Ms Jo |
| Dixon, Donald | Roberts, Allan (Bootle) |
| Dubs, Alfred | Roberts, Ernest (Hackney N) |
| Eastham, Ken | Rogers, Allan |
| Edwards, Bob (W'h'mpt'n SE) | Ross, Ernest (Dundee W) |
| Ewing, Harry | Rowlands, Ted |
| Fisher, Mark | Sheerman, Barry |
| Foster, Derek | Shore, Rt Hon Peter |
| Fraser, J. (Norwood) | Short, Mrs R.(W'hampt'n NE) |
| Garrett, W. E. | Skinner, Dennis |
| Godman, Dr Norman | Stewart, Rt Hon D. (W Isles) |
| Gould, Bryan | Thomas, Dafydd (Merioneth) |
| Hamilton, James (M'well N) | Thomas, Dr R. (Carmarthen) |
| Hamilton, W. W. (Fife Central) | Wardell, Gareth (Gower) |
| Heffer, Eric S. | Wareing, Robert |
| Hogg, N. (C'nauld & Kilsyth) | Wigley, Dafydd |
| Home Robertson, John | Williams, Rt Hon A. |
| Hoyle, Douglas | Wilson, Gordon |
| Hughes, Roy (Newport East) | Young, David (Bolton SE) |
| Hughes, Sean (Knowsley S) | |
| Hume, John | Tellers for the Ayes: |
| Jones, Barry (Alyn & Deeside) | Mr. David Winnick and Mr. Tony Banks. |
| Kilroy-Silk, Robert | |
| Lamond, James |
| NOES | |
| Alexander, Richard | Brinton, Tim |
| Arnold, Tom | Brooke, Hon Peter |
| Aspinwall, Jack | Brown, M. (Brigg & Cl'thpes) |
| Atkins, Rt Hon Sir H. | Buck, Sir Antony |
| Baker, Nicholas (Dorset N) | Budgen, Nick |
| Beaumont-Dark, Anthony | Bulmer, Esmond |
| Best, Keith | Butcher, John |
| Bevan, David Gilroy | Butterftll, John |
| Biffen, Rt Hon John | Carlisle, John (Luton N) |
| Biggs-Davison, Sir John | Carlisle, Kenneth (Lincoln) |
| Blackburn, John | Cash, William |
| Blaker, Rt Hon Sir Peter | Chalker, Mrs Lynda |
| Bonsor, Sir Nicholas | Channon, Rt Hon Paul |
| Boscawen, Hon Robert | Chapman, Sydney |
| Bottomley, Peter | Clark, Hon A. (Plym'th S'n) |
| Bottomley, Mrs Virginia | Clark, Sir W. (Croydon S) |
| Bright, Graham | Clarke, Rt Hon K. (Rushcliffe) |
| Cockeram, Eric | Monro, Sir Hector |
| Colvin, Michael | Morris, M. (N'hampton S) |
| Conway, Derek | Morrison, Hon P. (Chester) |
| Coombs, Simon | Murphy, Christopher |
| Cope, John | Nelson, Anthony |
| Corrie, John | Neubert, Michael |
| Couchman, James | Osborn, Sir John |
| Critchley, Julian | Ottaway, Richard |
| Dickens, Geoffrey | Page, Richard (Herts SW) |
| Douglas-Hamilton, Lord J. | Patten, Christopher (Bath) |
| Dunn, Robert | Patten, J. (Oxf W & Abgdn) |
| Durant, Tony | Pawsey, James |
| Edwards, Rt Hon N. (P'broke) | Penhaligon, David |
| Eggar, Tim | Portillo, Michael |
| Eyre, Sir Reginald | Powell, Rt Hon J. E. |
| Fallon, Michael | Powell, William (Corby) |
| Favell, Anthony | Powley, John |
| Fenner, Mrs Peggy | Prentice, Rt Hon Reg |
| Finsberg, Sir Geoffrey | Price, Sir David |
| Forth, Eric | Proctor, K. Harvey |
| Fox, Marcus | Renton, Tim |
| Fraser, Peter (Angus East) | Ridley, Rt Hon Nicholas |
| Fry, Peter | Ridsdale, Sir Julian |
| Gale, Roger | Roberts, Wyn (Conwy) |
| Garel-Jones, Tristan | Robinson, Mark (N'port W) |
| Goodhart, Sir Philip | Roe, Mrs Marion |
| Goodlad, Alastair | Rost, Peter |
| Gorst, John | Rowe, Andrew |
| Gow, Ian | Ryder, Richard |
| Gower, Sir Raymond | Sainsbury, Hon Timothy |
| Grant, Sir Anthony | Sayeed, Jonathan |
| Greenway, Harry | Shaw, Giles (Pudsey) |
| Grist, Ian | Shelton, William (Streatham) |
| Hamilton, Hon A. (Epsom) | Silvester, Fred |
| Hampson, Dr Keith | Sims, Roger |
| Harris, David | Skeet, Sir Trevor |
| Harrison, Rt Hon Walter | Soames, Hon Nicholas |
| Haselhurst, Alan | Speed, Keith |
| Hawkins, Sir Paul (N'folk SW) | Speller, Tony |
| Hayhoe, Rt Hon Barney | Spicer, Jim (Dorset W) |
| Heathcoat-Amory, David | Stanbrook, Ivor |
| Higgins, Rt Hon Terence L. | Stanley, Rt Hon John |
| Holland, Sir Philip (Gedling) | Stern, Michael |
| Hordern, Sir Peter | Stewart, Andrew (Sherwood) |
| Hunt, John (Ravensbourne) | Stewart, Ian (Hertf'dshire N) |
| Jackson, Robert | Tapsell, Sir Peter |
| Jessel, Toby | Taylor, Rt Hon John David |
| Jones, Robert (Herts W) | Taylor, John (Solihull) |
| Kellett-Bowman, Mrs Elaine | Temple-Morris, Peter |
| Kennedy, Charles | Terlezki, Stefan |
| Kershaw, Sir Anthony | Thomas, Rt Hon Peter |
| King, Roger (B'ham N'field) | Thompson, Donald (Calder V) |
| Knight, Dame Jill (Edgbaston) | Thorne, Neil (Ilford S) |
| Latham, Michael | Thurnham, Peter |
| Lee, John (Pendle) | Townend, John (Bridlington) |
| Leigh, Edward (Gainsbor'gh) | Townsend, Cyril D. (B'heath) |
| Lennox-Boyd, Hon Mark | Tracey, Richard |
| Lloyd, Peter (Fareham) | Twinn, Dr Ian |
| Lord, Michael | Waddington, David |
| Lyell, Nicholas | Wakeham, Rt Hon John |
| McCrindle, Robert | Waldegrave, Hon William |
| McCurley, Mrs Anna | Walden, George |
| MacGregor, Rt Hon John | Walker, Bill (T'side N) |
| MacKay, Andrew (Berkshire) | Ward, John |
| MacKay, John (Argyll & Bute) | Warren, Kenneth |
| McQuarrie, Albert | Watts, John |
| Maginnis, Ken | Wells, Sir John (Maidstone) |
| Malone, Gerald | Whitney, Raymond |
| Marlow, Antony | Winterton, Nicholas |
| Marshall, Michael (Arundel) | Wolfson, Mark |
| Mather, Carol | Wood, Timothy |
| Maude, Hon Francis | Wrigglesworth, Ian |
| Maxwell-Hyslop, Robin | Young, Sir George (Acton) |
| Mayhew, Sir Patrick | |
| Meyer, Sir Anthony | Tellers for the Noes: |
| Miscampbell, Norman | Sir Eldon Griffiths and Mr. Jerry Hayes. |
| Molyneaux, Rt Hon James |
§ Question accordingly negatived.