Written question asked by Kevin McNamara (Labour) on Thursday, 5 April 2001, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 8 May 2001. It was answered by Lord Spellar (Labour) on Tuesday, 8 May 2001 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his Answer of 2nd April, 366 c68W, what assessment he has made of the consequences of ricochet of an L21A1 plastic baton round (a) under, (b) within and (c) beyond the normal operating range.

Answer: Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 2 April 2001, Official Report, column 68W, what assessment he has made of the consequences of ricochet of an L21A1 plastic baton round (a) under, (b) within and (c) beyond the normal operating range. [158046] Mr. Spellar: I have been asked to reply. The normal operational range of the L21A1 baton round is 20-40 m. The L21A1 baton round is more accurate than the L5A7 baton round, particularly at longer range, and the incidence of baton rounds missing the target and subsequently ricocheting behind the target will be significantly reduced. The new optical gun-sight is set to direct the L21A1 baton towards the lower part of the body, away from the potentially vulnerable areas of the upper thorax and head. At the furthest normal operating ranges, a small proportion of the L21A1 batons may strike the ground just before they hit the lower part of the body. The guidance to firers allows for compensatory action (ie to aim off) at these distances to reduce the risk of ricochet. In the event that a ricochet were still to occur, we would expect baton rounds to ricochet below the vulnerable areas of the head and upper thorax.

Secondary information