§ Gregory BarkerTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the recent disturbance in the sovereign base areas in Cyprus; and what steps his Department has taken since July 2001 to ensure the safety of his Department's(a) personnel and (b) property. [69647]
§ Mr. IngramA peaceful protest against construction of a new antenna at the Salt Lake site in the Western Sovereign Base Area (WSBA) on 2 July was later hijacked by a few trouble-makers throwing stones and petrol bombs and setting fire to property. Order was restored quickly by the SBA police with support from military personnel. One SBA police officer was sightly injured and there was limited damage to property.
Following the unprecedented riots of 3 July 2001, public order training and procedures, as well as physical security arrangements, were thoroughly reviewed by the SBA police and British Forces Cyprus. We do not, however, disclose detailed information on security arrangements at defence establishments, so I am withholding such details under exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.