To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 8 March 1999, Official Report, column 38, on CR gas, when the prescribed rules of engagement of the use of CR gas by the armed forces were formulated. [80828]

Rules of engagement are considered and approved for specific operations. Their formulation varies according to the particular circumstances of an operation. The precise rules of engagement that govern the use of CR gas are thus approved on each occasion that its use is authorised. Rules of engagement for the use of CR are consistent with the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention, which explicitly permits the use of toxic chemicals for law enforcement purposes.