HC Deb 02 August 1976 vol 916 cc1210-2
Mr. Powell

(by Private Notice) asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the grant of holiday leave to prisoners in Northern Ireland convicted of terrorist offences.

The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office (Mr. J. D. Concannon)

For more than 20 years selected prisoners in Northern Ireland prisons have been allowed to spend a week at home on parole as part of their preparation for release.

To be eligible, prisoners have to meet certain requirements, including the following: they must not have served a prison sentence previously; they must have served at least two-thirds of their time in prison by 30th September.

In fact, 414 prisoners were considered under the scheme this year. Nearly 300 of them were judged unsuitable or were unwilling to take part. These included nearly 100 special category prisoners who were not considered to be close enough to the end of their sentences and 88 who were ruled out because of their behaviour in prison or the risk they represented to the general public.

So far 46 prisoners have been paroled and returned to prison. Altogether 23 are on parole at present.

No male Provisional IRA prisoners are taking part. So much for the headlines and some of the public utterances by people who should know better! Moreover, if any prisoners are known to have been involved in prison disturbances, they will not be allowed to go on parole. If necessary, the scheme could be suspended altogether.

Threats are being made of trouble in Northern Ireland, both in the prisons and on the streets, with the aim of deflecting Her Majesty's Government from their policy of ending new admissions to special category status. Detention is no longer an issue in Northern Ireland, and just as the Government stuck to their policy on that, so they will stick to their policy on special status for convicted prisoners. The security forces will deal with any eventuality that may arise.

Mr. Powell

Is the Minister aware that my Private Notice Question in no way raised the matter of special status or the Government's policy towards it, which policy is entirely supported by my hon. Friends and myself? Will he convey to his right hon. Friend the fact that the handling of this matter has been a major public relations disaster which once again has blasted the tender plant of confidence in the Government's determination? Who was responsible for the way in which this matter was handled with the media in Northern Ireland? Finally, will the Minister cite the powers under which these paroles are made?

Mr. Concannon

The Department has made special efforts recently to give the general public as full a picture as possible of conditions in prisons in Northern Ireland. I stress that the information given has been purely factual. The release of information governing the leave scheme falls into this pattern. This scheme has been operating for a period of 20 years and has operated without anybody, apart from the people involved, knowing about it. This is another example of the present system of open government.

Mr. McNamara

Is my hon. Friend aware how much we regret the way in which this matter has been handled by the Press since that gives a false impression of the situation in Northern Ireland? My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and his colleagues should be supported in this policy because it indicates the way in which they are getting away from the special category status and are treating all criminals on the same basis.

Mr. Concannon

I repeat that the information given was purely factual. As for the way in which the matter has been reported in the Press, there is no way in which I can influence that side of matters.

As for the question of the powers under which the scheme is operating, I repeat that the scheme has been in operation for over 20 years and was put into action by one of the right hon. Friends of the right hon. Member for Down, South (Mr. Powell). Those powers are now vested in the Secretary of State.

Mr. Freud

Will the Minister accept that the scheme can be easily misunderstood and is not very selective? Is it not time that there was a proper system of parole in Northern Ireland in which the public in general and prisoners can have confidence?

Mr. Concannon

I repeat that the scheme has been in operation for 20 years. This is the first time there has been any trouble. It is due to the openness of the present government system that these matters have come to light. People have been put on parole for many years, and no one has taken any exception to the system. However, on this occasion the scheme has been treated by screaming headlines, and unfortunately they have got it wrong again.

Mr. Michael Latham

On the subject of a public relations exercise mentioned by the right hon. Member for Down, South (Mr. Powell), will the Minister of State take this opportunity to repudiate any suggestion of an amnesty for convicted terrorists in future?

Mr. Concannon

There will certainly be no amnesty for convicted terrorists. I do not know how the hon. Gentleman spent his Saturday afternoon, but mine was spent in the Maze Prison telling people exactly that.

Mr. Neave

Is the Minister aware that what gravely concerns us is that this incident follows a week of serious disorders in the Province? Is there not a serious danger that this will be interpreted as yet another sign of weakness in Government security policy at a time when the death rate is the highest for three years?

Mr. Concannon

Since this scheme has been in operation since 15th July, I hardly think that it has anything to do with the present situation. A total of 45 prisoners have already been let out on parole and they have come back. We have not lost one. Therefore, this scheme has had no effect on the overall policy, and I think that everybody in Northern Ireland knows that full well.