§ 5. Mr. Adleyasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what contacts he has had with the various categories of hunger-strikers in the Maze prison.
§ Mr. Thomas Coxasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the present position regarding people on hunger strike in prisons in Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. Stephen Rossasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the present situation within Maze and Armagh prisons.
§ Mr. Humphrey AtkinsI have had no contact with the hunger strikers myself. They were made aware of the regime that I described in my statement of 19 December through the established machinery of prison administration. Since the hunger strike ended, 40 prisoners have ceased their protest at Her Majesty's prison Maze, and are now benefiting from that regime. They have been moved to clean, furnished cells, have been given the new civilian-type clothing, have been allowed to send for their own leisure clothing to wear out of working hours, and have been given the privileges of association, visits, letters and parcels available to all conforming prisoners. They are in the process of being assessed and allocated to suitable activities during working hours.
1130 Once they end their protest, the same facilities will be available to the 428 prisoners still persisting in their protest at Maze, and also, in their essentials, to the 29 women protesters at Armagh. A group of protesters were moved to clean cells at Maze on Monday as part of the normal cleaning cycle. Some of these cells were furnished normally. The prisoners have not fouled or damaged them and I am repeating this move today. As this process continues I hope that all protesting prisoners will be encouraged to end their protest altogether.
Since 19 December the Government have pursued exactly the course set out in my statement of that day. The privileges available can apply only to those who conform with prison rules. The Government cannot, and will not, introduce a regime which would give a group of prisoners the substance of their demand for political status.
§ Mr. AdleyWhile congratulating my right hon. Friend on the success of his policy, may I ask whether he agrees that it would be helpful also to congratulate his predecessor, the right hon. Member for Barnsley (Mr. Mason)? Both right hon. Members have resisted the temptation to give in to terrorism. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the moral of the way that he has dealt with the problem is that the prime requirement in dealing with the IRA is patience?
§ Mr. AtkinsI am grateful to my hon. Friend. I cannot speak for the right hon. Member for Barnsley (Mr. Mason), but I have no temptation to give way to the terrorists. I agree that we have to be patient and firm in our efforts, which I hope will be successful, to bring an end to this uniquely disgraceful and revolting protest.
§ Mr. CoxIs the Secretary of State aware that the ending of the hunger strike was greeted with great relief by hon. Members on both sides of the House? Is he aware also that he has an opportunity to ensure that there are continuing improvements in prisons in Northern Ireland? The hunger strike has ended, but the issue has not been resolved, and unless there are continual improvements, we might find ourselves back in the situation that existed only a few weeks ago.
§ Mr. AtkinsNot only the whole House, but the whole of Northern Ireland, was relieved when the hunger strike ended shortly before Christmas. As I have told the House before, it is the Government's business constantly to study the prison regime and to make sure that it is humane, but secure. I do not agree that the issue has not been resolved. I believe that it has. The prisoners recognise that there is no way in which the Government will give them the political status that they have been demanding all these years.
§ Mr. RossI add the congratulations of my party to the Secretary of State on the stand that he took in a difficult period. He has been proved right. What indications are there that the pledge, reported last Monday, that newly furnished cells will not be dirtied—and the first group of prisoners to be moved into those cells are not doing that—will be continued? What is the situation at Armagh, where 29 prisoners are still on the blanket? Are there hopes that that protest will also be ended?
§ Mr. AtkinsI am grateful for the hon. Gentleman's opening remarks. The prisoners in Maze who have been moved into clean cells—which happens regularly anyway—with furniture have not fouled the cells or 1131 destroyed the furniture—and destruction was the original reason for the removal of furniture from the cells. I hope that as more clean cells become available, and protesters are moved into them, the process will continue and that we shall see an end to the dirty protest and, indeed, the whole blanket protest. I also hope that the same thing will apply with the women prisoners in Armagh, though we have no positive evidence that that is happening.
§ Mr. KilfedderAs the Provisional IRA is attempting to hide the fact that the hunger strikers capitulated to the Government, will the right hon. Gentleman make it clear to the Ulster people that no privileges have been granted to the Provisional IRA hunger strikers in Maze that are not being granted to all prisoners in Northern Ireland?
§ Mr. AtkinsI am happy to do that. Every prisoner in Maze is being treated in exactly the same way. It is the Government's business to carry out the decisions of the courts, and prisoners who are committed to prison are treated in precisely the same way, whatever their previous political or other associations. There can be no justification for treating prisoners convicted by the courts differently from each other.
§ Mr. McNamaraIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that, even though this matter has been resolved, there is a great opportunity for the Government to examine the legislation under which many of the prisoners were convicted? Is it his intention to establish an independent judicial inquiry, or other inquiry, to look into the need for the Emergency Powers Act, various scheduled offences and other derogations from the normally accepted standards of this Island for the conviction of prisoners?
§ Mr. AtkinsI note what the hon. Gentleman says. It is not something that I have in mind to do, because the inquiry into the continuing need for the Emergency Provisions Act is best carried out by the House every six months.