HC Deb 21 June 1990 vol 174 cc1096-7
1. Mr. John Marshall

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he last met the Irish Prime Minister to discuss cross-border security.

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Mr. Peter Brooke)

I called briefly on the Taoiseach when I visited Dublin on 28 May. The usual forum for discussing cross-border security issues is, however, the Anglo-Irish Conference, the last meeting of which took place on 19 April. A copy of the joint statement issued after that meeting has been placed in the Library.

Mr. Marshall

Does my right hon. Friend agree that terrorism will be defeated only when there is no haven for terrorists anywhere in Ireland? In view of that, will he raise with the Irish Prime Minister the failures of the Republic in respect of extradition?

Mr. Brooke

I hope that my hon. Friend will accept an amendment to his statement. Terrorism will be defeated only when there is no safe haven for terrorists anywhere. On the second part of his question, we discussed extradition at great length at the Anglo-Irish Conference on 19 April, as a result of which a working party of officials was set up to discuss and review the present provisions against terrorism.

Mr. Maginnis

Would not it be better if those who talk about cross-border security were advised to regard it in cross-frontier terms? That would bring home to them the international aspect of terrorism and perhaps prompt them to think about the lack of co-operation on extradition between the Irish Republic and the United Kingdom and the Irish Republic and West Germany. Why should hon. Members believe that there is any difference in attitude between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland in terms of the land frontier between north and south when we see what happens in the courts of the Irish Republic?

Mr. Brooke

I understand the hon. Gentleman's question, but the heart of the problem lies in the legislation rather than the action taken by the courts. We regard the Irish judiciary as independent in the same way as we hope that the Republic regards our judiciary as independent. The working group of officials will consider the legislation.

Mr. Dykes

I hope to remain meticulously in order, Mr. Speaker, but I should say that an explosion took place at an air force base in my constituency this morning. Does my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State agree that it is important to have further discussions with the Ministry of Defence about cross-border security in Northern Ireland and security on the mainland? We must ensure that there is increasingly effective co-operation with the Irish Republic on those matters in view of the obvious connection between IRA terrorism in the island of Ireland and the recent explosions on the mainland. Fortunately, in my constituency there were no casualties.

Mr. Brooke

I entirely appreciate why my hon. Friend raises the sad event that occurred in his constituency today. We must all be grateful that no serious inuries arose. The security of defence bases is more a question for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence and, of course, I shall draw his attention to it.

Mr. McNamara

The Secretary of State rightly said that there should be no safe haven for terrorists anywhere, so will he ask his right hon. Friends to raise with the Trevi group the possibility of a criminal law jurisdiction agreement for the Community? We would then be able to avoid the confrontations that occasionally arise between the Irish and British Governments on extradition. The right hon. Gentleman should remember that there are a lot of other places where people have been awaiting extradition for a long time—three IRA suspects in France are awaiting extradition to West Germany. It is important to remember that the problem is not one between us and the Republic of Ireland, but is a European one, and it should be dealt with on that basis.

Mr. Brooke

I read with interest the article that the hon. Gentleman contributed the other day along those lines. All suggestions as to how we achieve greater collective co-operation against terrorism are valuable and no doubt the Trevi group will consider suggestions such as the hon. Gentleman has mentioned.