§ Q24. Mr. Beithasked the Prime Minister whether he will make a statement about his proposal for all-party meetings on security in Northern Ireland.
§ The Prime MinisterI announced on 7th January that I would be approaching the Opposition with the suggestion that the two major parties should discuss arrangements for formal meetings of Government, the Conservative Opposition, the Liberal Opposition and representatives in this House from Northern Ireland, on the subject of security in Northern Ireland. This initiative was favourably received and the first meeting was held at 10 Downing Street on 15th January. There was a confidential briefing of the124W current security situation in the Province and a discussion of the arrangements for future meetings.
The purpose of the meetings is to discuss all aspects of security in Northern Ireland. Decisions on security must continue to rest with the Government, but we have made it clear that we would welcome the emergence of any constructive ideas which could be taken into account in our planning. A further meeting will be held at 10 Downing Street early next month.