HC Deb 22 May 1986 vol 98 cc516-8
2. Mr. Adley

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received concerning the establishment of an inquiry into the latest incidents at Wapping; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Hurd

My hon. Friend has written to me to suggest an inquiry into the conduct of demonstrators at Wapping. I have also received representations from right hon. and hon. Labour Members for an inquiry into police action. I do not consider than an inquiry would be the right way forward. Those who have been charged with criminal offences are being dealt with by the courts. The way forward lies in sensible co-operation between the police and responsible trade unionists to reduce disorder and prevent violence, which only the trouble-makers want.

Mr. Adley

I thank my right hon. Friend for that reply and for his letter. Is it not clear that many of those who went to Wapping went there prepared for and intending to commit acts of violence, and acts of violence against the police, yet, when the police defended themselves, they were immediately accused of brutality? Did my right hon. Friend notice that within minutes almost of the events taking place, Labour Members, including an Opposition Front-Bench spokesman, were falling over themselves to attack the police and accuse them of brutailty? Does that not make a mockery of the new-found role of the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton (Mr. Kaufman), who seeks to paint himself as the spokesman of the party of law and order—an attitude that is more appropriate to the Whitehall theatre than to the Palace of Westminster?

Mr. Hurd

It is extremely worrying that so many leading members of the Labour party, inside and outside the House, especially in London and Manchester, should take every opportunity, without proper investigation, to blacken and swipe at the police. What we are trying to do in Wapping, which is becoming a thoroughly dangerous situation, is to try to persuade the print unions, which have a dispute with Mr. Murdoch, to exercise their rights of peaceful picketing and demonstration in such a way that they do not attract to the scene the trouble-makers to whom my hon. Friend referred. I hope that it will be possible for them to pursue their dispute, if that is what they want, without attracting violence to it.

Mr. Tony Banks

Is the Home Secretary aware that Murdoch is nothing more than a cheap little crook who, through his actions, has caused the social disruption and economic distress among printers that we are witnessing in Wapping? Is the right hon. Gentleman also aware that the difference between Labour and Conservative Members is that Labour Members who went there came back and told the truth about what they saw, as opposed to the blind prejudice and ignorance of Conservative Members? Will the Home Secretary hold an inquiry, because Labour Members have nothing to hide?

Mr. Hurd

The hon. Gentleman does not even try to hide the fact that he and a number of his London colleagues—though not all—immediately assume that when there is any trouble the police are at fault. He has a long record in that regard, and yields only to his former leader on the GLC. Parliament has provided means, through the independent Police Complaints Authority, for a thorough investigation, supervised by the independent authority, into any complaints that may be made against police operations. That is the proper remedy for any genuine complaints.

Mr. Marlow

Would not an inquiry possibly be of great benefit, because it might also prove that not only are there Militant Labour Members of the House, anti-police councillors such as Bernie Grant and pro-terrorist prospective parliamentary candidates such as Ken Livingstone in the Labour party, but, indeed, that Socialists are involved in organising violence in our capital city against our police force?

Mr. Hurd

We do not need an inquiry to establish those facts, because those concerned repeatedly condemn themselves out of their own mouths. What is inadequate is the response of the Leader of the Opposition, who thinks that it is enough to give an occasional gentle rap over the knuckles, when it should be made clear that the people taking this line will not be supported in their efforts to be elected to this House on the next occasion. —[Interruption.]

Several Hon. Members

rose——

Mr. Speaker

Order. Let us keep the temperature down.

Mr. Soley

Would not the Home Secretary be behaving a little more responsibly if he took this opportunity to remind many of the hotheads on his own Bank Benches that many police officers, including senior police officers, are also deeply disturbed about the way in which events got out of control on 3 May? Indeed, his own Minister has taken up some of the suggestions made by the Opposition that are necessary to deal with this problem. Does he agree that the very small minority of people who were shown on the police video to be throwing things came from Right-wing parties, as shown in the advertisement in National Front News? Would it not be all important if the Government stopped using the police to deal with the industrial consequences of their economic failure in many industrial relations disputes throughout the country?

Mr. Hurd

I cannot agree with the hon. Gentleman's last point. As he knows, the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis has absolute operational independence and, therefore, it is not for my hon. Friends or for me to give him instructions as to how he should conduct his duties and responsibility for protecting those who wish to work in a particular place. I agree with the hon. Gentleman's first point. Every sensible person, as well as the police, is concerned at the pattern that has developed at Wapping, and that is why I have spoken about it several times in the last few weeks. I certainly give credit to those Opposition Members who have been seeking to throw light, rather than darkness, on the situation and who have been helping to establish some contact — not yet quite sufficient—between the police and the print unions. As I indicated in my main answer, I believe it is down that path that a solution to the policing side of this problem can be found.