HC Deb 10 December 1997 vol 302 cc554-7W
Mr. McNamara

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what(a) number and (b) type of British Army weapons and of what description have been lost, stolen or otherwise unaccounted for in Northern Ireland in each of the past 10 years; how many of these weapons are believed to have fallen into the hands of (a) Republican and (b) Loyalist paramilitaries; and how many have been recovered subsequently. [19496]

Dr. Reid

The figures currently available relating to the numbers and types of British Army weapons lost, stolen or otherwise unaccounted for in each of the past 10 years is set out in the table below. These include the number of weapons believed to have fallen in the hands of(a) Republican and (b) Loyalist paramilitaries and the number of weapons recovered subsequently.

1988
Serial Weapon Loyalist Republican Not Known Total Recovered
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g)
1 Handgun 2 2 4 3
2 Rifle 1 1 2 1
3 Sub Machine Gun
4 Light Machine Gun
5 Medium Machine Gun

1989
Serial Weapon Loyalist Republican Not known Total Recovered
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g)
1 Handgun 3 1 4 8 5
2 Rifle 1 1 2 1
3 Sub Machine Gun 1 1 1
4 Light Machine Gun
5 Medium Machine Gun

1990
Serial Weapon Loyalist Republican Not Known Total Recovered
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g)
1 Handgun 1 6 7 3
2 Rifle
3 Sub Machine Gun
4 Light Machine Gun
5 Medium Machine Gun

1991
Serial Weapon Loyalist Republican Not known Total Recovered
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g)
1 Handgun 2 3 5 4
2 Rifle
3 Sub Machine Gun
4 Light Machine Gun
5 Medium Machine Gun

1992
Serial Weapon Loyalist Republican Not known Total Recovered
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g)
1 Handgun 1 4 5 2
2 Rifle
3 Sub Machine Gun
4 Light Machine Gun
5 Medium Machine Gun 1 1 1

1993
Serial Weapon Loyalist Republican Not known Total Recovered
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g)
1 Handgun 1 1
2 Rifle
3 Sub Machine Gun
4 Light Machine Gun
5 Medium Machine Gun

1994
Serial Weapon Loyalist Republican Not Known Total Recovered
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g)
1 Handgun 1 4 5 3
2 Rifle
3 Sub Machine Gun
4 Light Machine Gun
5 Medium Machine Gun

1995
Serial Weapon Loyalist Republican Not Known Total Recovered
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g)
1 Handgun 2 2 2
2 Rifle
3 Sub Machine Gun
4 Light Machine Gun
5 Medium Machine Gun

1996
Serial Weapon Loyalist Republican Not known Total Recovered
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g)
1 Handgun 3 3 2
2 Rifle
3 Sub Machine Gun
4 Light Machine Gun
5 Medium Machine Gun

1997
Serial Weapon Loyalist Republican Not Known Total Recovered
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g)
1 Handgun 1 1 1
2 Rifle
3 Sub Machine Gun
4 Light Machine Gun
5 Medium Machine Gun