§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many non-self-destructive anti-personnel land-mines they hold in stock at the most recent known date.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Earl Howe)It is our established policy for security reasons not to reveal information relating to stock levels of munitions held or planned. However, as stated by my noble friend the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 23rd April 1996,Official Report, col. WA 89, we intend to reduce quantities by almost half as soon as is practicable.
If agreement is reached for an international ban on all anti-personnel mines, or if viable alternatives to anti-personnel mines emerge, we will commence destruction of our remaining anti-personnel mines (none of which has a self-destruct capability).