§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what changes have been made to guidance concerning the deployment and use of plastic baton rounds since publication of the Patten report. [130995]
§ Mr. IngramNo changes have been made since the publication of the Patten Report. New guidelines were produced by the Association of Chief Police Officers and were announced by the Home Secretary in a written answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Pendle (Mr. Prentice) on 27 July 1999,Official Report, columns 246–47W.
§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many plastic baton rounds have been fired since publication of the Patten report; what the circumstances were of each use; and what reports by the Chief Constable were sent to(a) the Police Ombudsman and (b) the Police Authority. [130993]
§ Mr. IngramDuring the period 9 September 1999 to 17 July 2000, 33 plastic baton rounds were fired by the Royal Ulster Constabulary and one by the army. In each instance the Royal Ulster Constabulary came under attack by crowds throwing petrol bombs and other missiles including blast bombs. One complaint was received from a member of the public and this has been forwarded to the Independent Commission for Police Complaints. No570W reports have been sent to the Police Authority for Northern Ireland. On each occasion ACPO guidelines were followed.