§ 2. Mr. Tam Dalyell (Linlithgow)What assessment he has made of the evidence submitted to him from Colonel George Styles, ballistics expert, Professor Huw Thomas, consultant surgeon, and Bernard Knight, Home Office pathologist, in the case of WPC Fletcher. [80950]
§ The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. Jack Straw)None. The investigation of crime is a matter for the police.
As my hon. Friend is aware, there has been a thorough review of the evidence in the case by the Metropolitan police. I understand that the review is now reaching a conclusion.
§ Mr. DalyellHow has that Metropolitan police inquiry dealt with the question of two warnings received by MI5 the night before the shooting, the first warning coming from the interception of telegrams between certain individuals in the Libyan People's Bureau in Tripoli, and the second from MI6, which was certainly passed on to MI5?
§ Mr. StrawAs I have made clear, the investigation of this crime is a matter for the police, and in any event my hon. Friend would, with respect, not expect me to comment upon the type of allegation that he has made.
§ Sir Teddy Taylor (Rochford and Southend, East)Several reports and television programmes have indicated that the bullet that killed Yvonne Fletcher came from the fourth floor of a nearby building. Although I cannot expect the Home Secretary to comment on that, will he at least say whether the front-page report in The Sunday Times yesterday that new evidence has emerged showing that the bullet came from the embassy is true or untrue? I think that the House is entitled at least to know what is going on and where that report came from.
§ Mr. StrawIn a matter such as this, inevitably many competing claims are made. With respect to the hon. Gentleman, I can no more comment on that claim than I can, or was able to, on the claim by my hon. Friend the Member for Linlithgow (Mr. Dalyell). These are matters for the police investigation, which, as I said, we hope will reach a conclusion shortly.