§ Lord Lairdasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the inspections of IRA arms dumps in June resulted in a detailed list of all the weapons and explosives on display; and, if not, what are the merits of such inspections. [HL4044]
§ Lord Falconer of ThorotonThe independent Arms Inspectors, President Maarti Ahtisaai and Mr Cyril Ramaphosa, reported to the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning on 25 June that they had observed that the arms dumps inspected by them held a substantial amount of military material, including explosives and related equipment, as well as weapons and other material. The Inspectors also gave the very important assurance that the weapons and explosives inspected could not be used without this being detected by the Inspectors. It is for the Inspectors to determine how this is to be verified, and what information they may need to hold to do so.