§ Mr. Keyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will ask the chief constable of Wiltshire for a report on the course of events leading up to the arrest of itinerants near Park House roundabout on the A303 and on the disorder which occurred on the evening of Saturday 1 June; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Giles ShawMy right hon. and learned Friend has been kept fully informed by the chief constable of Wiltshire constabulary about these matters. Police officers under the chief constable's command, drawn from a number of surrounding forces, were seeking to prevent a breach of the peace in connection with injunctions obtained by the National Trust and others to prevent the use of land at Stonehenge by members of the peace convoy.
I understand from the chief constable that on 1 June a convey of vehicles, prevented by the police from approaching Stonehenge, entered a field and refused to withdraw from it. The police encountered resistance from certain members of the convoy who were circling the field in their vehicles and ignoring police instructions to stop. Some 550 arrests were made for public order and criminal offences as a result of the day's incident; while it would be inappropriate to comment further on individual cases which are sub judice, we recognise that the police have a difficult task in such circumstances.
I further understand that the police have since been taking steps to establish liaison with the peace convoy and to return to their owners vehicles which had earlier been seized in connection with criminal offences. Steps have also been taken to ensure that appropriate assistance is provided by Wiltshire social services department.