§ Mr. Powellasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he has at any time signed any document purporting to be, or capable of being represented as, an agreement with any part of the Irish Republican Army.
§ Mr. WhitelawI signed no truce or agreement jointly with any part of the I.R.A.: and the assertions inDer Spiegel, to which my right hon. Friend no doubt refers, are inventions. On 22nd June, when I reported to the House that the Provisional I.R.A. had announced an unconditional ceasefire, I said that the security forces would reciprocate. This position was set out in a note, which was shown to an intermediary. The reciprocation by the security forces amounted to their not using the ceasefire to carry out raids and searches. Otherwise their position was unaffected.