SDLP and DUP disagree over new plastic bullets

Unionist and nationalist members of the North's Policing Board have disagreed over a proposal to allow the PSNI to purchase a new form of plastic bullet.

A decision on the matter was postponed yesterday due to concerns about the controversial use of plastic bullets, which have been blamed for killing 14 children in the North in recent decades.

The SDLP said no plastic bullets had been fired in 30 months and there was no urgency to buy any more, while the North's Children's Commission has also called for more research.

The DUP, however, has said the Policing Board should have authorised the new bullets.