Northern Ireland (Hansard, 20 November 1973)

§ 1. Mr. Duffy
asked the Minister of State for Defence whether he will make a statement on the operations of the British Army in Northern Ireland.

§ 16. Mr. Biggs-Davison
asked the Minister of State for Defence whether he will make a statement about the operations in Northern Ireland.

§ 28. Mr. Goodhart
asked the Minister of State for Defence whether he will make a statement about military operations in Northern Ireland.

§ The Minister of State for Defence (Mr. Ian Gilmour)
The Army continues to do all it can to assist the civil authorities in maintaining progress towards the elimination of terrorism.

§ Mr. Duffy
Is the Minister aware that, while hon. Members appreciate the need for the Army to make house searches, in view of the recent campaign by Protestant extremist organisations it is to be hoped that such searches will be carried out more vigorously among both sides of the community? Will the right hon. Gentleman confirm that house searches are proving to be only 10 per cent. positive? Does he not think there is a danger that they may become counter productive?

§ Mr. Gilmour
I am grateful to the hon. Member for pointing out the necessity for house searches and the fact that they are carried out among both communities. We have taken into account that they can create resentment against the Armed Forces. Nevertheless I am sure he will agree that such searches are necessary.

§ Mr. Biggs-Davison
While it is a matter of congratulation that Her Majesty's Forces are able to do the job in Northern Ireland with fewer men than heretofore, would it not be wiser not to publicise the withdrawal of troops from Northern Ireland?

§ Mr. Gilmour
As my hon. Friend knows, we keep the force levels continuously under review. It would not be 1103 practical to avoid publicity because it is impossible to keep troop movements secret.

§ Mr. Rose
Is the hon. Gentleman aware that there is considerable concern, particularly following an article in the Observer a week last Sunday, that policing in certain areas is more strenuous than in others? Will he confirm that over the past year there have been 140 sectarian murders perpetrated by Protestant extremist organisations in addition to the murders committed by the IRA? Will he give an undertaking that an evenhanded policy will be adopted in respect-of both sides?

§ Mr. Gilmour
As the hon. Gentleman knows, the Army has always been totally even-handed in its policy. Since the beginning of this year 753 Catholics and 505 Protestants have been arrested and charged with security offences. There is no doubt that the Army is being thoroughly even-handed in its policy and will continue to be so.

§ Mr. Goodhart
While it would be wrong to take chances when the possibility of forming an administration in Northern Ireland is hanging in the balance, may I ask my right hon. Friend constantly to bear in mind the importance of reducing our military presence in Northern Ireland so that there can at least be a 12-month gap between emergency tours? Can he say whether there has been any reduction recently in IRA efforts to import arms into Northern Ireland?

§ Mr. Gilmour
I entirely agree with my hon. Friend that we have to keep force levels under review. It is obviously important to give our troops in the Army as much of an interval as possible between Northern Ireland tours. I have no up-to-date and thoroughly reliable information about the import of arms into Ireland by the IRA. I can assure my hon. Friend that the claims made by Mr. Twomey today are thoroughly exaggerated.

§ Mr. McNamara
The House will be pleased to know that Mr. Twomey's claims are exaggerated. How many people have been arrested for offences connected with the recent campaign of the Unionist extremists? The right hon. Gentleman gave figures for arrests on both sides during the past year. We 1104 would like figures for arrests during the past six weeks up to the culmination of the campaign a few nights ago.

§ Mr. Gilmour
I cannot give the hon. Gentleman the exact figures for the last six weeks. We do not keep figures week by week and we cannot know exactly the period about which an hon. Member will ask questions. There has, however, been a considerable number of arrests in both communities, certainly in the Protestant community, which the hon. Gentleman is worried about, during the last six weeks. I will write to him giving the exact figures.

§ Sir R. Cary
Does not the British Army deserve the greatest praise? Very often this has not been a fair battlefield, with individual soldiers and pickets murdered in cold blood, yet the Army has kept both its nerve and its morale.

§ Mr. Gilmour
I am sure the whole House will wholeheartedly agree with my hon. Friend. The skill and courage and, above all, restraint with which the Army has behaved over the last three years are beyond all praise.