HC Deb 31 July 1975 vol 896 cc2048-51

Mr. Powell(by Private Notice) asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he has any statement to make on the fatal incident reported last night near Banbridge in County Down.

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Mr. Merlyn Rees)

The House will deplore such violence and will join with me in expressing sympathy for the families.

The House will understand that, while this investigation is continuing, I cannot give full details. However, my information is that at about two o'clock this morning a minibus containing members of the Miami Showband from the Republic of Ireland, who were returning from a professional engagement in Banbridge, County Down, was stopped on the main Dublin road north of Newry. Five members of the band were apparently ordered out of their vehicle by terrorists. There was then an explosion. This was apparently the premature detonation of a bomb. There was also some shooting. As a result, three members of the band were shot dead and one was seriously injured. Two other men believed to have been terrorists were killed by the explosion. The remaining member of the band was unhurt but is understandably badly shocked.

Neither the identity of the terrorists nor that of the organisation to which they belong has been definitely established, but the police are following a positive line of inquiry.

Mr. Powell

Does the Secretary of State agree that this horrifying outrage is rendered, if possible, more shocking by the fact that it was carried out against persons who were peaceably visiting the United Kingdom from another country? Does he further agree that what matters now is the identification and the bringing to justice of the survivors amongst those who were responsible, and the further improvement of the rate of detention and conviction of terrorists?

Mr. Rees

I agree with the right hon. Gentleman that the victims were visitors, peaceably visiting part of the United Kingdom for innocuous reasons. The police are pursuing a line of investigation. The evidence so far available makes them reasonably confident that the terrorists were not members of the PIRA or any related organisation. I cannot confirm that any particular Protestant group—the UVF for example—was responsible. I understand that an arm with the letters "UVF" tattooed on it has been found.

Mr. Biggs-Davison

Is the Secretary of State aware that we are grateful to the right hon. Member for Down, South (Mr. Powell) and to him for enabling every one of us to express our detestation of this atrocity and to join in sympathy and prayers for the dead and bereaved and best wishes for the recovery of the survivor suffering from shock?

Does not the fact that the showband came from across the border, as the right hon. Member for Down, South said, and that members of it originated from different sides of the border, remind us that the terror hangs over the Irish Republic as well as the United Kingdom, and should be met in co-operation by the two sovereign Powers?

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that Her Majesty's Opposition support him and the security forces in all measures, including detention, that may be appropriate for the smashing of the terrorist gangs, whatever colours they brandish and besmirch?

Mr. Rees

I am very grateful for the hon. Gentleman's remarks. He will know that in the past six months the violence has come not from one quarter but from across the community divide. Some people—not the hon. Gentleman—seem to ignore that. The RUC, with the assistance of the Army where appropriate, will pursue the killers in this case. As I have informed the House, it is following a positive line of inquiry.

Mr. Stallard

Will my right hon. Friend accept that hon. Members on the Government side of the House, too, will want to be associated with his expressions of horror at this latest tragic incident in the Six Counties and to express our sympathy with the relatives and families of the dead men? Does my right hon. Friend agree that if such an incident occurred anywhere else in the United Kingdom there would rightly be a massive public outcry for concentrated police activity to bring the criminals to book and to trial? Will my right hon. Friend give us further details of the kind of action the police are taking to bring the case to the courts?

Mr. Rees

I am grateful for my hon. Friend's words, which are in accordance with the views on both sides of the House. I agree that people become numbed in Northern Ireland, and sometimes one feels that there is not the same outcry as there would he in other parts of the United Kingdom. What matters in Northern Ireland is that people on both sides of the community divide should express their horror when something is committed by people on their side of the community fence. This is happening increasingly. As for my hon. Friend's other question, it would be better if I simply used the words that I used in my statement: the police are following a positive line of inquiry.

Rev. Ian Paisley

Will the right hon. Gentleman take it from me that the hon. Members on this bench, representing the Northern Ireland constituents, totally condemn, without reservation, those who were guilty of this diabolical deed? Was the band a mixed band, with both religions represented in it, as I have reason to believe? Will the new patrol group of the Royal Ulster Constabulary be operating in the area to bring the criminals to justice?

Mr. Rees

I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman's words, and for the fact that he says them without reservation. His words will matter in Northern Ireland. I have no knowledge of the religion of the people concerned. The special patrol group is involved.

Mr. Fitt

First, may I express my sympathy with all the relatives of those who lost their lives. Will my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State confirm that the area in which this atrocious murder took place is allegedly a Loyalist area, where there is no hostility or animosity towards the police or the security forces? Is he satisfied that adequate protection is being given to those who travel in such areas? Will he confirm that those who are allegedly responsible for this brutal crime came from an area known as The Triangle in Portadown, where a number of brutal murders have taken place recently? Is he satisfied that the RUC and security forces are giving due attention to the murderers who emanate from that area?

Mr. Rees

The police are accepted in the area. It is certainly not a no-go area by any stretch 'of the imagination. The police cannot protect every inch of a road as people are traveling along it. It would be wrong of me to give any suggestion that they could. Even if another five battalions of troops were sent it could not be done. It is easy to murder and kill—far easier than to talk and argue. It is much better for me to leave to the police the question where the murderers come from.