§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many police officers have reported(a) faults and (b) misfirings of riot guns used in the course 480W of discharging plastic baton rounds in each of the past 10 years; and how many riot guns have been withdrawn from use after faults were discovered. [1225]
§ Jane KennedyNone.
§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many L21A1 plastic baton rounds are held by the police; how many old model PBRs have been withdrawn from use consequently; and what arrangements have been made for the unspent rounds. [1227]
§ Jane KennedyFor operational reasons it would be inappropriate to place in the public domain the exact numbers of the new model baton rounds held by the police or old model baton rounds that have been withdrawn. However the old model baton rounds have been withdrawn and are temporarily held in secure premises until arrangements are made for their return to the military.
§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland by what means a spent plastic bullet round may be identified for the purposes of forensic evidence. [1228]
§ Jane KennedyA spent plastic bullet round does have 'rifling' detail on the round after firing. However, because plastic does not hold the exact detail of the marks the round cannot be identified with a specific riot gun.