HC Deb 23 March 1972 vol 833 cc1655-6
7. Mr. Winterton

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will now make a further statement on his examination of means to counter the terrorist activities of the Irish Republican Army in Great Britain.

Mr. Maudling

Appropriate steps will continue to be taken, but I have nothing at present to add to the reply I gave to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Edgbaston (Mrs. Knight) on 28th February.—[Vol. 832, c. 42.]

Mr. Winterton

I thank my right hon. Friend for that Answer. Is it not now time that the Government acted in the real interests of the United Kingdom, particularly the majority loyalist population of Northern Ireland, and declared the Irish Republican Army illegal throughout the whole of the United Kingdom? Would my right hon. Friend further press his right hon. Friend to close the Border? Also, would he bring pressure upon Mr. Lynch to act in a genuine fashion against the I.R.A. and its off-shoots in the Republic of Ireland?

Mr. Maudling

The main task in Great Britain in dealing with the I.R.A. is to bring to book the people responsible for the outrage at Aldershot. A great deal is being done by the police. I think that the police have the full support of the House in carrying out their work to try to bring those people to book. The main thing is to deal with those who use violence. When it comes to proscribing a particular organisation or organisations, I fully understand the feelings on this matter, but the translation of those feelings into a law on the Statute Book presents considerable difficulty.

Mr. Russell Kerr

How many troops would be required to close the Border?

Mr. Winterton

One division.

Mr. Maudling

My information is that a complete closure of the Border in military terms would be impracticable.