Lord Inglewoodasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether any report has ever been given to this House following the visit to London understood to have been arranged early last year when a demonstration was given of the use and purpose of water cannon by a detachment of the German police.
§ Lord EltonNo, but it was reported in another place on 28th October 1982 (Vol. 29, col. 540) that three water cannon were on loan to the Metropolitan Police for evaluation. Two of these vehicles had been borrowed from West Germany and it was in that connection that four West German police officers visited London for a fortnight in May 1982. The West German vehicles were returned in December 1982. Two prototype vehicles, built in this country under contracts awarded by my department, have since been delivered to the Metropolitan Police for evaluation.