§ Mr. Cyril Smithasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about the issue of CR gas to the Army in Northern Ireland; and if he will publish the results of the tests carried out into the effects of CR gas.
§ Mr. MasonCR is available in Northern Ireland as in the rest of the United Kingdom, and has been authorised for use there in certain special circumstances, particularly when it may enable the use of firearms to be avoided when the Armed Forces have been called in to help deal with terrorists. It is not a gas and is normally available for use in liquid solution.
An intensive testing programme into CR over several years is largely completed and gives no cause for concern. The results are being made available in reports to appropriate scientific journals; some have been published, others await publication or are in course of submission.