HC Deb 22 November 1990 vol 181 cc418-9
18. Mr. Molyneaux

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the security situation.

Mr. Brooke

Since I answered a similar question on 19 July 1990, there have been 40 deaths arising from the security situation in Northern Ireland, 27 of which have occurred since 1 October 1990.

The tragic events of recent weeks have provided further evidence of the threat which terrorists continue to pose in Northern Ireland, and of their inhuman cruelty. The overriding priority of the Government will, therefore, remain the defeat of terrorism, from whichever section of the community it comes, through the even-handed and energetic enforcement of the criminal law.

Mr. Molyneaux

Will the Secretary of State be good enough to accede to my request of some months ago that he should consider publishing, in a written report, the outcome of the Stevens inquiry, given the virtual collapse of the unfounded charges against members of the Ulster Defence Regiment?

Mr. Brooke

I shall certainly look into the matter that the right hon. Gentleman has raised.

Rev. William McCrea

Bearing in mind that my constituency is a constant hive of IRA terrorist activity, will the Secretary of State tell the House and my constituents when they, the constituents of mid-Ulster, will have their basic right—the right to live?

Mr. Brooke

The hon. Gentleman expresses a point of view which will evoke the widest possible echo in the Province and throughout the United Kingdom. I pledge to him the support of the security forces in the suppression of terrorism.