§ Mr. ChurchillTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information his Department has on the availability of explosive testing kits capable of detecting Semtex; and what steps he has taken to acquire these kits for United Kingdom airports or to recommend them to their operators.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyThe Department has a programme for testing—and, where appropriate, assisting with the development of—equipment designed to detect explosives hidden in items carried on aircraft. Several techniques and individual items of equipment have shown promising results in the laboratory, but we have not yet found any system which will perform satisfactorily under operational conditions at airports.