§ Mr. Hickmetasked the Prime Minister if she will make a statement about deaths and injuries in terrorist incidents caused by the Provisional IRA, the IRA and similar organisations in mainland Britain since the recent troubles began, giving the date and place of each incident with the numbers of men, women and children killed or injured in each incident and in total to date; and if she will make a statement.
§ The Prime MinisterThe information is not available in the form requested, but deaths in England and Wales recorded in the criminal statistics as attributable to terrorist incidents connected with Northern Ireland, and injuries known to the Metropolitan police were as follows:
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Total deaths Men Women Children Number of fatal incidents Injuries 1972 7 2 5 — 1 *n.a. 1973 1 1 — — 1 239 1974 43 30 11 2 6 452 1975 11 9 2 — 9 228 1976 2 1 1 — 2 113 1977 — — — — — — 1978 — — — — — 11 1979 1 1 — — 1 17 1980 — — — — — 5 1981 3 2 1 — 2 45 1982 11 11 — — 2 49 1983 6 4 2 — 1 91 1984 5 2 3 — 1 31 1985 — — — — — — Total 90 63 25 2 26 1,281 *Not available.
§ Mr. Hickmetasked the Prime Minister if she will make a statement about deaths and injuries in terrorist incidents caused by the Provisional IRA, the IRA and similar organisatons in Northern Ireland since the recent troubles began, giving the date and place of each incident with the numbers of men, women and children killed or injured in each incident and in total to date; and if she will make a statement.
The security situation 1969–85 References 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 Fatalities RUC 1 2 11 14 10 12 7 13 8 4 9 3 13 8 9 7 14 RUC (Reserve) — — — 3 3 3 4 10 6 6 5 6 8 4 9 2 9 Army — — 43 103 58 28 14 14 15 14 38 8 10 21 5 9 2 UDR — — 5 26 8 7 6 15 14 7 10 9 13 7 10 10 4 Civilians 12 23 115 321 171 166 216 245 69 50 51 50 57 57 44 36 25 Totals 13 25 174 467 250 216 247 297 112 81 113 76 101 97 77 64 54 Injuries Army/UDR 54 620 390 578 548 483 167 264 188 135 153 77 140 98 88 86 31 RUC/RUC(R) 711 191 315 485 291 235 263 303 183 302 165 194 332 99 142 267 363 Civilians — 245 1,838 3,813 1,812 1,680 2,044 2,162 1,027 548 557 530 878 328 280 513 451 Totals 765 1,056 2,543 4,876 2,651 2,398 2,474 2,729 1,398 985 875 801 1,350 525 510 866 845
§ Mr. Hickmetasked the Prime Minister, how many persons injured in terrorist outrages she has visited since May 1979 giving the date and place of each visit and identifying the incident in which such persons were injured.
§ The Prime MinisterIt is not possible to state with any precision every occasion on which I have met people injured in terrorist attacks. However, I have visited in hospital victims of the following terrorist incidents:
- October 1981—Chelsea Barracks bomb
- July 1982—Hyde Park and Regent's Park bombs
- December 1983—Harrods bomb
- October 1984—Grand Hotel, Brighton bomb
In addition, on two occasions when I have visited Northern Ireland (August 1979 and December 1982) I have met victims of terrorist attacks.
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§ The Prime MinisterThe number of deaths and injuries between 1969 and 1985 as a result of the security situation in Northern Ireland is in the table. Information is not available in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. Hickmetasked the Prime Minister how many letters she has written to those injured and to the dependents of those killed or injured in terrorist incidents since May 1979.
§ The Prime MinisterI regret to say that it would be very difficult to identify such correspondence from the records. I share this sensitive duty with my colleagues.
§ Mr. Hickmetasked the Prime Minister if she will make a statement about the Prevention of Terrorism Act and its role in combating terrorism.
§ The Prime MinisterThe prevention of terrorism legislation, which was first introduced by a Labour Government in 1974, is of very great importance in combating terrorism, and the Government believe that this legislation will be necessary as long as a substantial terrorist threat remains. It cannot prevent all terrorism, but there is good reason to believe that there would have been more terrorist attacks, and that more would have been 209W successful, without it. A large quantity of explosives was discovered after the Act's use on one occasion last year. Also last year, the power to arrest without warrant under this legislation was used to avert a conspiracy to attack a retired army officer who had served in Northern Ireland. Since 1974, 366 persons detained under this legislation have been convicted of offences, and 308 have been excluded from Great Britain or the United Kingdom, or have been deported or removed under immigration powers. Six persons detained under the Act received life sentences for murder or attempted murder, and 36 received sentences of more than five years' imprisonment for causing or conspiring to cause explosions. Twenty persons were convicted for possession of explosives and 33 for offences under the Firearms Act. The case for continuing the legislation is considered every year and the professional judgment of the police on each occasion has been that the Act helps to prevent and detect acts of terrorism.