§ 16. Mr. McCuskerasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will instruct Northern Ireland civil servants and the employees of statutory bodies in Northern Ireland within his responsibility to refuse to meet or communicate with elected representatives of Provisional Sinn Fein.
§ Mr. HurdContacts with such representatives are kept to the minimum, but, in the interests of constituents, and to ensure that administration is equitable, representations on purely constituency matters are dealt with at local level in a fair and proper manner.
§ Mr. McCuskerWhat aspects of the behaviour of Sinn Fein are so objectionable to the Secretary of State that they prevent him from meeting or communicating with its representatives? Why do they not apply to civil servants and those employed in statutory bodies, and to families, many of whose members may have been murdered by associates of Sinn Fein?
§ Mr. HurdIt is right that Ministers should refuse to meet Sinn Fein representatives or to reply to letters from them until and unless Sinn Fein renounces violence. I make no apology for that. However, representations made on behalf of constituents must be dealt with properly and fairly in the interests of those constituents, which is why we have arrived at the procedure about which the hon. Gentleman knows.