§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has yet considered any alteration to the Judges' Rules to meet the difficulties arising in the Prevention of Terrorism Act whereby people may be detained in police custody for a further period of five days.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesI have at present nothing to add to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend on 2nd May.—[Vol. 931, c.40-41.]
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether any record is kept of requests made by persons for whom application has been granted that they be detained in police custody for a further period of five days under the Prevention of Terrorism Acts; of requests made by such detainees for access to legal advice or for information concerning their detention to be given to their families; what action has been taken; how many applications have been made; and how many have been granted;
(2) what rules govern the interrogation of children and minors concerning the activities of persons suspected of committing offences under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provision) Act; how many minors or young persons have been interrogated; and whether he has prepared a code to govern the interrogation of children under the Acts.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesI would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to a similar 297W Question he asked on 2nd May.—[Vol 931, c. 41.]
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons have been detained under the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act; how many have been subsequently charged with offences; and with what offences they have been charged.
§ Mr. Merlyn Rees2,630 people have been detained in Great Britain under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Acts 1974 and 1976. An extension of detention under Section 7 of the 1974 Act or Section 12 of the 1976 Act has been approved in 252 cases; a further 589 people were detained for 48 hours or less. 1,789 people have been detained pending further examination at ports under the Supplemental Orders made under the Acts.
112 people detained under the Acts have been charged with offences in Great Britain. 11 of them have been charged with offences under the Acts. Eight of the remainder have been charged with murder, three with attempted murder, 12 with conspiracy to cause explosions, eight with unlawful possession of explosives, six with conspiracy to possess or procure explosives with intent to endanger life, seven with contravention of Section 1 of the Firearms Act 1968, five with conspiracy to defraud the Inland Revenue, 16 with theft, one with robbery, 10 with burglary, one with assisting offenders, two with causing criminal damage, two with attempting criminal deception, one with handling a stolen vehicle, three with handling stolen property, one with unlawful wounding, one with possession of drugs, three with wasting police time, two with causing an explosion, one with harbouring a person known to have committed an arrestable offence, one with attempted theft, one with assault on police, one with being found on enclosed premises, one with possessing an offensive weapon, one with fraud, two with offences under Section 6 of the Road Traffic Act 1972, and one with criminal deception.
In addition three people have been returned to the Irish Republic and there charged, two with burglary and one with robbery. 16 people have been returned to 298W Northern Ireland and there charged, two with murder, one with conspiracy to cause an explosion, four with armed robbery, two with possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, three with unlawful possession of explosives, two with causing an explosion, one with unlawful taking of a motor vehicle, and one with burglary.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons have been charged with offences under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act; and under which sections of the Act the charges have been brought.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesEight people have been charged in Great Britain with offences under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1976; two under Section 10(l)(a) and Section 10(2), two under Section 10(l)(a), one under Section 1(1)(b), one under Section 9(1), one under Section 9(2)(a), and one under Section 11(1). Three people were charged in Great Britain under Section 1(1)(b) of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1974.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has refused an extension of five days to the police for the holding of a suspect under the Prevention of Terrorism Act; and on how many occasions.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesNo.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, of the charges brought against suspects initially held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, if any have been dropped before the case was heard; if so, which charges; whether any charges have led to an unsuccessful prosecution; if so, which charges; whether any charges have led to a successful prosecution; and, if so, in each case, what was the sentence imposed.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesInformation is in preparation, but I regret that it is not yet available.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish in the Official Report the number 299W of arrests and detentions by each regional police force on persons within its area under the terms of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act; in how many cases applications were made for detention to be extended by a further five days; and in how many cases it was refused.
Police Force Number of Detentions Number of Applications for Extensions of Detention Metropolitan Police … … 667 89 Avon and Somerset Constabulary … … 32 3 Bedfordshire Police … … 33 0 Cambridgeshire Constabulary … … — — Cheshire Constabulary … … 6 0 City of London Police … … 24 8 Cleveland Constabulary … … 7 1 Cumbria Constabulary … … 2 2 Derbyshire Constabulary … … 8 0 Devon and Cornwall Constabulary … … 26 4 Dorset Police … … 16 0 Durham Constabulary … … — — Essex Police … … 28 6 Gloucestershire Constabulary … … 10 0 Greater Manchester Police … … 42 2 Hampshire Constabulary … … 143 67 Hertfordshire Constabulary … … — — Humberside Constabulary … … 7 0 Kent County Constabulary … … 35 5 Lancashire Constabulary … … 46 0 Leicestershire Constabulary … … — — Lincolnshire Police … … 2 0 Merseyside Police … … 613 11 Norfolk Constabulary … … — — Northamptonshire Police … … 14 1 Northumbria Police … … 5 0 North Yorkshire Police … … 1 0 Nottinghamshire Constabulary … … 2 0 South Yorkshire Police … … — — Staffordshire Police … … — — Suffolk Police … … 7 0 Surrey Constabulary … … 79 25 Sussex Police … … 9 0 Thames Valley Police … … 13 5 Warwickshire Constabulary … … — — West Mercia Constabulary … … 2 1 West Midlands Police … … 93 7 West Yorkshire Police (Metropolitan) … … 72 7 Wiltshire Constabulary … … 2 0 Dyfed Powys Police … … 47 0 Gwent Constabulary … … 2 2 North Wales Police … … 33 0 South Wales Constabulary … … 47 2 … … 2,175 248 In addition, 455 people have been detained under the legislation in Scotland, in respect of four of whom extensions of detention were granted.