§ Mr. Biggs-Davisonasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will make a statement about strength and operations of Her Majesty's Forces in Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. Robert C. Brown,pursuant to his answer [Official Report, 5th July 1977, Vol. 934, col. 1091–1093], gave the following information
For certain operations it has been decided that the Armalite (AR 15) rifle is the best available weapon for defence against terrorist attack. Armalites have not hitherto been used by the Security Forces in Northern Ireland but their issue on a limited basis has now been authorised.