§ The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Mr. Adam Ingram)On 23 October 2002, I placed in the Library of the House details of the guidelines on the Rules of Engagement for the use of baton rounds in Northern Ireland. I did this as an exceptional measure aimed at24WS building confidence in Northern Ireland following a request from the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission.
Since then, a change has been made to the guidelines in the light of a recommendation made by the Independent Assessor of Military Complaints Procedures in his report on the military use of baton rounds in Northern Ireland. This report was placed in the Library of the House in December 2002. As such I am now placing the updated extract in the Library of the House. It is drawn from a more general guidance card and includes all the relevant guidance on the Rules of Engagement for the use of Baton Rounds by the Armed Forces in Northern Ireland.