§ 1. Mr. Roseasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will now consult with the Secretary of State for the Home Department in Northern Ireland concerning the provision of an amnesty for all those involved in civil disorders during 1969.
§ The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. James Callaghan)I have nothing to add to my answer to a Question by my hon. Friend on 12th February.—[Vol. 795, c. 383.]
§ Mr. RoseIs my right hon. Friend aware that the amnesty given to members of the R.U.C. and the acquittal of members of the U.V.F. on bomb charges contrasts startlingly with the continued imprisonment of people who were defending their homes in the troubles of a year ago? Does not he think that a reprieve for them would help to lessen tensions in Northern Ireland?
§ Mr. CallaghanI do not wish to comment on a decision by a jury in Northern Ireland. I hope that my hon. Friend has not forgotten that the amnesty offered 1546 to the R.U.C. by the Inspector-General was in relation to the same period for which there was a general amnesty. My hon. Friend is asking for a second amnesty in relation to later offences, but I think that the sooner the people of Northern Ireland generally regard civil disorders as the crimes that many of them are, the more likely the country is to get back to peaceful pursuits.
Lord HamiltonWould not the right hon. Gentleman agree that the vast majority of people in Northern Ireland are concerned that hooligans and political extremists, who either provoke violence or take part in violence, should be subjected to the full rigour of the law and not be encouraged in further violence by amnesties?
§ Mr. CallaghanThere is always a time for amnesty. I do not dissent from the amnesty which the Northern Ireland Government offered on the previous occasion but, if there are attempts at explosions and attempts at murder, from whatever quarter, by shooting or in any other way, they should be treated as civil crimes and brought before the courts.