§ Mr. John BrowneTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a list, with dates, of all United Kingdom and other units who were authorised to fire live 76 mm HESH rounds on the Batus live firing range between January 1984 and January 1986.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonAvailable records do not contain a comprehensive list of units which fired 76 mm HESH rounds at Batus during the period in question.
§ Mr. John BrowneTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library the relevant documents showing the number of blind 76 mm HESH rounds fired, logged but unlocated and uncleared lying outside designated impact areas on the Suffield, Batus training area for the period January 1984 to January 1986.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonAll 76 mm HESH blinds reported at Batus during the period were destroyed by ammunition technicians. However, the essence of training at Batus is the ability to fire and manoeuvre within the whole of a large, live-firing area and it would not necessarily be obvious that a round had failed to explode.
§ Mr. John BrowneTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the board of inquiry into the Grenadier accident at Batus of 7 July 1989 was(a) ordered to investigate and (b) took any evidence as to how an unexploded round lay uncleared on the Batus range before 7 July 1989; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe board of inquiry was asked to investigate all the circumstances surrounding the accident to the three guardsmen. As part of their investigations the board examined the procedures at Batus for reporting and clearing unexploded rounds.
§ Mr. John BrowneTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the convening order for the Army boa rd of inquiry into events of 7 July 1989 on the Batus range required investigation into the question as to why a round remained uncleared outside an impact area on the Batus live firing range.
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§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe convening order directed the board of inquriy to consider all the circumstances that contributed to the accident on 7 July 1989.