§ Mr. Stratton Millsasked the Minister of State for Defence if he is aware that there are a number of shops in Belfast in which it is possible to enter through one public door and leave through another public door, thereby avoiding search at a defence check point; how many shops are in this position; and what proposals he has to deal with this situation.
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§ Mr. BlakerEvery care is taken in siting check points to minimise the possibility of people evading them. However, I am aware that there are some eight shops in Belfast which have doors outside the protected area as well as inside it.
For safety reasons the doors outside the protected area cannot be locked but a review has recently been conducted in conjunction with the shop managers. They have been advised and assisted in the provision of security guards to protect their premises and it should not now be possible for anyone to avoid Army check points via shops without passing a security guard.
§ Rev. Ian Paisleyasked the Minister of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the shooting of two workmen on Tuesday, 5th December, in the Ardoyne by the Army in mistake for Irish Republican Army terrorists.
§ Mr. BlakerAt about 11 a.m. on 5th December six shots were fired at Army posts in the Ardoyne area of Belfast. In one of those incidents a shot narrowly missed soldiers working outside the observation post at the junction of Berwick Road and Alliance Avenue. The shot was believed to have been fired from Berwick Road, which has been the source of a number of recent shooting and rocket attacks on the observation post.
Soldiers observed two men in an unoccupied house which had recently been used by gunmen, and was adjacent to one which had been used a few days earlier by terrorists firing a rocket at the same Army observation post through a hole in the roof. One of the men observed was on the roof and the other at an upstairs window. They were carrying what appeared to be weapons and one shot was fired at each of them, killing one and wounding the other. The wounded man was immediately given first-aid treatment and they were both taken to hospital in Army transport.
Further inquiries suggested that the men were in fact workmen working on the house, and a statement was promptly issued expressing the Army's deepest regret at the incident. I wish to express my sympathy to the relatives of the dead man and to the man who was wounded. 465W The normal investigation by the civil authorities is already under way.
I understand that the two men had been sent to the house by the Northern Ireland Housing Authority but that the authority had not informed the Army of their presence. Steps are being taken to ensure that such information is transmitted in future.