§ Mrs. ClwydTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if it is standard procedure for United Kingdom police forces to provide firearms training systems that include training sequences designed to train police or other security personnel to fire on unarmed demonstrators; and if he will make a statement. [2775]
§ Mr. MichaelIt would be entirely wrong for police forces not to train officers, or anyone else, to fire on unarmed demonstrators. The only circumstances in which police officers are trained to use a firearm against an unarmed person are training in the use of plastic baton rounds against people engaging in serious public disorder. Plastic baton rounds may be used as a last resort, where conventional methods of policing have been tried and failed or are unlikely to succeed if tried, and where the chief officer decides such action to be necessary because of the risk of loss of life or serious injury or widespread destruction of property where the damage may lead to serious risk of loss of life or serious personal injury. The police in the United Kingdom are trained to respond with the minimum force required to counter effectively any threat which they or members of the public come under. The use of force is governed by section 3 of the Criminal Law Act 1967 which provides that a person may use such force as is reasonable in the circumstances in the prevention of crime. If my hon. Friend has any evidence 513W of any police force in the United Kingdom using such training sequences, I shall be grateful if she will let me have her evidence straightaway.