Northern Ireland: Stolen Weapons

HL Deb 27 March 1998 vol 587 c262WA

Lord Burton

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Which of the weapons stolen from, or unaccounted for by, the British police in the last 10 years, and subsequently recovered in Northern Ireland, were known to be in the possession of:

1. (a) Loyalists
2. (b) Republicans
3. (c) others; and

what was the total number of weapons recovered. [HL997]

Lord Dubs

In the last 10 years, 86 weapons have been stolen from the RUC, or were unaccounted for, of which 65 have subsequently been recovered:

• 15 were recovered from Loyalist sources;
• 11 were recovered from Republican sources;
• and 39 were recovered from other sources.

Note: No information is held centrally about other constabularies and this answer can therefore only refer to weapons stolen, or otherwise unaccounted for in Northern Ireland.