§ Mr. Meacherasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many persons have died in Army custody in Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years; what were their names; when they died; what was the date of their death; and what was the cause of their death as stated on the death certificate.
§ Mr. Hayhoe[pursuant to his reply, of 28 January 1980, c. 545–46]; Two people have died whilst in Army custody in Northern Ireland in the last 10 years. One was a civilian who was shot whilst attempting to escape from arrest in South Armagh on 15 April 1976. The coroner's inquest returned an open verdict; cause of death was "Bullet wounds to chest". The other was a soldier who was found dead on 9 February 1977 whilst serving detention in the guardroom at Palace barracks, Holywood. The coroner's inquest returned an open verdict; cause of death was given as "suffocation". In both cases the papers were referred, as is usual, to the Director of Public Prosecutions, who found that there was no case to answer. For the reasons given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department in the House on 31 January—[Vol 977, c. 1536]—I 137W would not wish to publish the names of those concerned in the Official Report. If, however, the hon. Member requires such information I would be happy to provide it for him.