§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis indicating, in each year since 1997, the amount of CS spray which the Commissioner(a) purchased, (b) distributed, (c) returned to storage, (d) wrote off as no longer safe for operational purposes, indicating how such unsafe stocks are disposed of and (e) has not otherwise accounted for. [105075]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeThe Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police tells me that in 1997, approximately 29,500 canisters of CS spray were purchased and distributed among Operational Command Units (OCUs). An annual breakdown of purchases since 1997 is not readily available, but since then, a total of approximately 1,000 canisters have been purchased by individual OCUs throughout the Metropolitan Police District. As of 13 January, approximately 1,500 used and 15 damaged canisters had been returned to storage at local OCUs for ultimate destruction by the Army. I understand that no canisters are unaccounted for.