§ Mr. Desmond SwayneTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about the canisters washed up at Hurst in the western Solent last week and removed by the Royal Navy. [104646]
§ Dr. MoonieDuring the week of 10 March, a number of silver metallic canisters washed up along the Solent and on the Isle of Wight. On two occasions, a Royal Navy Explosive Ordnance Unit were asked by civil authorities to examine the canisters and did so. On the8W first occasion the Royal Navy removed 15 canisters for safe keeping. On the second occasion they x-rayed canisters in situ. All canisters examined were found to be empty. The canisters were not of a type suitable for use as ordnance or to contain gas and they did not contain any mechanism that would allow them to disperse their contents into the environment. Any further investigation into how the canisters came to be washed up is a matter for the civil authorities.