§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, in view of the fact that the figures and details that he gave to the House on 17 January, Official Report, column 22, on the number of occasions in which the police collected and used firearms have been admitted by Scotland Yard to be incorrect, he will now make a further statement giving the corrected figures.
§ Mr. WhitelawI am grateful to the hon. Member for this opportunity to correct and update the figures given to the House in my statement on 17 January and by my hon. and learned Friend in reply to the hon. Member for Batley and Morley (Mr. Woolmer) on 21 January.
Figures for occasions on which firearms were issued to Metropolitan Police officers in operations against persons known or believed to be armed: number 1980 5,958 1981 4,983 1982 6,635 (full year)
The Number of occasions on which shots were fired: number 1980 7 (29 shots) 1981 3 (7 shots) 1982 6 (8 shots)
The Number of persons injured: number 1980 2 1981 1 1982 3
The Number of occasions on which firearms were drawn from holsters: number 1980 72 1981 106 1982 118