§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the number of remand prisoners in Her Majesty's prison, Belfast, whose trial has not yet been set down for hearing because of the unavailability of the counsel of their choice; whether they have been on remand for a period of over 12 months, 12 to 15 months, 15 to 18 months, 18 to 21 months, 21 to 24 months or longer period; and what are the charges which they are facing.
§ Mr. Prior[pursuant to his reply, 30 March 1984]: The information requested is not available. Delays in the pretrial periods may arise for a number of reasons, but I understand that it is not uncommon for trial arrangements to be subject to delay because of the unavailability of the defendant's chosen counsel.