Only in South Armagh do UK police officers carry military weapons

Why does the British Home Office permit the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers to carry Assault Rifles in the area of South Armagh? No other police service in the UK is allowed to carry such weapons.

This type of weapon is considered and is classified as purely a military weapon capable of both semi and fully automatic fire. The Russian Kalashnikov and USA Colt Armalite are examples of such weapons first developed for military purposes only.

If a terrorist attack using this type of weapon was to be carried out in Great Britain, then the military ‘special forces’ who are fully trained to ‘kill or capture’ terrorist perpetrators, would be on stand-by to counter such an attack, not the British police. An example of this type of incident was the terrorist attack on the Iranian Embassy in London in 1980.

Can we expect a clarification from the Home Secretary Priti Patel on the deployment of these weapons by the PSNI?

Morrison W Woods, Bangor

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