From Pat Finucane Centre

McNAMARA DUBS NEW PLASTIC BULLET: "LETHAL WEAPON III"

Backbench Labour MP, Kevin McNamara today dubbed the new plastic bullet L21A1 "Lethal Weapon III" following technical information obtained from Parliamentary Questions about the weapon. In the absence of consultation with victims organisations and against the advice of experts, RUC and British Army intend to deploy the replacement bullet on 1 June.

In reviewing the data made available the the House of Commons by Defence Minister John Spellar today, Mr McNamara poured scorn on attempts to portray the new plastic bullet as "safer" than the model L5A7 currently in use. "I am advised that US military data suggests that limits on the kinetic energy of baton round type munitions should be set excluding any weapon with more than 122 joules of kinetic energy - that is what hits the victim. The experts believe that weapons with an energy greater than 122 joules should be considered as a lethal weapon and their use regarded as illegal where the use of lethal firearms in the same context would be illegal."

According to test figures now available, the energy transmitted by the new L21A1 plastic bullet at a 105-foot (35m) impact is 230 joules. For a 60-foot (20m) impact the energy figure is 244 joules. Kevin McNamara said: "These figures are staggering - the new plastic bullet will hit the victim at twice the recommended limit ."

Mass and velocity
Information supplied to Mr Mcnamara reveals that the new L21A1 baton round weighs in at 98 grammes as against the heavier L5A7 model that weighed 133 grammes.

As a rule of thumb, the lighter the bullet, the higher the velocity: The muzzle velocity of the L21A1 (calculated at 6-foot from gun barrel) is 161 mph (71.4 metres per second). (L5A7 model 140 mph - 62 metres per sec).
* Tobias Molly killed aged 18. Was shot in chest by Army rubber bullet at 6-9 foot range.
* Nora McCabe killed aged 32. Shot in head by RUC plastic bullet at 6-foot range.
* Sean Downes killed age 22. Shot in chest by RUC plastic bullet at less than 6-foot range.

Mr McNamara said: "The figures speak for themselves. To be hit by anything at 160 mph is something more than a sharp shock."

Danger
Use of kinetic impact munitions such as the plastic baton round cause particular concern because of the risk of death and injury to members of the public, civilian by-standers and children in particular. For soldiers and police officers authorised to use the plastic bullet gun, breach of deployment guidelines is not even a disciplinary offence. According to figures compiled by relatives of plastic bullet victims at least sixteen of the seventeen fatalities caused by plastic bullets resulted from a breach in deployment guidelines.

Following the recent European Court of Human Rights rulings on shoot-to-kill incidents, Mr McNamara believes that all plastic bullet injuries should be subject to rigorous investigation and that the DPP should bring prosecutions against their misuse.

Government stonewall
Mr McNamara complains that the Ministry of Defence still refuses to reveal the name of the manufacturer of the new plastic baton round or the supply information on the cost of re-equipping army and police with the new weapon. (Withheld "in accordance with Exemptions 1 and 13 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government information.")

Government ignores its own advisors
The secret Defence and Scientific Advisory Council report of 21 August 2000 that preceded the decision to introduce the new L21A1 round recommended that "research should be undertaken into post-ricochet trajectories and energy of baton rounds and that steps could be taken to reduce the risk to non-targeted personnel from ricochets". McNamara complains that the Government refuses to respond to Questions about whether this work has been carried out. ("Withheld in accordance with exemptions 2 and 11 of the Code of practice on Access to Government information.")

Government has issued no new guidelines
McNamara said it is clear from the Defence Scientific Advisory Council report that MoD and ACPO were at odds over what guidelines to issue "appropriate to the two organisations and operational theatre". The Council washed its hands of drawing up guidelines and warned (para 15): "..it may be difficult to maintain the acceptable incidence of injury at the low level currently envisaged, in all operational as distinct from test and training circumstances."

Kevin McNamara MP reiterated his concern tthat the MoD is "defying the recommendations of Patten and pushing ahead with its plan to re-equip Army and police in Northern Ireland with a new generation of deadly plastic bullets. Everything the Government has done on this issue has been shrouded in secrecy and flies in the face of the commitment of the RUC to promote a new face for policing in Northern Ireland."