HC Deb 19 December 1974 vol 883 cc1796-8
7. Mr. Bidwell

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give figures and other possible details on the numbers of persons excluded from Great Britain since the passing of the anti-terrorist Act.

Mr. Roy Jenkins

I have signed 10 exclusion orders, three of which are against persons who are not citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies, and who are therefore excluded from the United Kingdom. Notice of the making of an order has been served on five of the 10 people. Two have been removed to the Irish Republic. Three have made representations. I have reconsidered the cases of two of these three, and I have decided not to revoke the exclusion orders I made. Both are being removed to Northern Ireland this afternoon. The case of the third is still under consideration. Of the other five people against whom exclusion orders have been made, three are understood to be outside the United Kingdom and two have been charged with murder. The orders made against these last two have therefore been revoked.

Mr. Bidwell

Will my right hon. Friend accept—I am sure he does—that those of us who have been concerned over the years with the question of civil liberties will want to know from time to time how the Act is working? It has six months to run. At the end of that six months the House will have to consider whether it should renew the Act. What plans does my right hon. Friend have to inform the House periodically of the working of the Act? As there is no appeal machinery in being—he rejected that idea during the debates on the Bill— what extra assistance, which he hinted at, is being contemplated?

Mr. Jenkins

On the main part of my hon. Friend's supplementary question, the House will review the Act—and I would wish it to do so—if and when an order has to be laid for its renewal in six months, when we shall be able to consider the matter with an open mind in accordance with developments.

My hon. Friend's question about reporting from time to time on how the Act is working is appropriate from the point of view of giving a report of that sort. No doubt I shall be required to give reports from time to time, and I shall be glad to do so.

I have explained to the House why I did not think a judicial appeal procedure was appropriate in these circumstances, and the House accepted by a substantial majority what I said. I also told the House that I would appoint a panel of advisers. I have appointed two of them, and their names have been announced.

Mr. Finsberg

As one of my constituents is the subject of an order, will the Home Secretary say roughly how long he expects the intervals to be between the time when notice is served on a person, the time when he sees the adjudicator and the time when the final decision is taken?

Mr. Jenkins

I hope that these intervals will be as short as possible. There is no desire to hold a person in custody in these circumstances. I told the House that of the three cases concerned I have been able to reach a decision upon two, and hope to reach a decision upon the third in the reasonably near future. I would not wish to put an exact number of days upon it, but I do not think that anyone will suggest that it is an unduly long-drawn-out procedure, in view of the report which I have been able to give the House.

Mr. Corbett

Has my right hon. Friend seen the extremely disturbing report in today's issue of The Guardian alleging physical assault by warders upon six persons held in Winson Green on suspected acts of terrorism in Birmingham? Will he announce immediate steps to investigate these disturbing allegations, preferably in public and independently?

Mr. Jenkins

I saw the report in The Guardian today. An investigation of the incident is already being conducted by an assistant chief constable of another authority, and I shall await the report. As my hon. Friend knows, in present circumstances fully independent inquiries, as opposed to inquiries by an independent force, can be held only under Section 32, and only two have been held. That is very unusual procedure. I shall of course consider the matter urgently when I receive the report from the police, but I do not want to give the impression that I think it would be here appropriate to have a Section 32 inquiry or a public inquiry of that sort.