HC Deb 09 November 1967 vol 753 cc151-2W
42. Marquess of Hamilton

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will take steps to supply the Metropolitan Police Force with electric truncheons to maintain law and order.

Mr. Roy Jenkins

No.

Mr. Weatherill

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will discuss urgently with the Commissioner of Metropolitan Police the question of authorising police officers to use water hoses when dealing with public demonstrations in defiance of law and order.

Mr. Roy Jenkins

The view of the Commissioner of Police, with which I agree, is that the use of water hoses would not be consistent with the function of the police, which is not to suppress public demonstrations but to secure that they are conducted peacefully within the limits allowed by law.