§ Mr. Tilleyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any of the immediate response units of the Metropolitan Police have been deployed outside their own districts on any incidents of spontaneous public disorder since 20 April.
§ Mr. MayhewThere has been no incident of the order of that in Notting Hill on 20 April since that date on the Metropolitan Police district. There is no central record of every occasion on which immediate response units have been deployed outside their own districts, and details of that deployment could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. Tilleyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis has issued instructions on the deployment on foot patrols or other duties of immediate response units; and if he will publish them.
§ Mr. MayhewWe understand from the Commissioner that he has issued instructions on the structure, composition and command of the units and guidance on their deployment. It would not be appropriate to publish these operational documents, but they take full account of the fact that the units are composed of officers from the local districts where they are usually deployed and provide for their deployment on local day-to-day duties such as foot patrols.
§ Mr. Tilleyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the maximum and average periods for which Metropolitan police officers are attached to immediate response units.
§ Mr. MayhewWe understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that the average period of attachment is three months and that the question of the maximum period of attachment will be determined later this year.