HC Deb 22 February 1990 vol 167 cc908-9W
15. Mr. Clay

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a further statement on the Birmingham pub bombings case.

Mr. Waddington

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave earlier to the hon. Member for Mansfield (Mr. Meale).

Mr. Sedgemore

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the chief constable of the West Midlands showing on what date and on whose initiative Assistant Chief Constable Tom Meffen interviewed the hon. Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. Mullin).

Mr. John Patten

No report from the chief constable is called for because the facts are well known to my right hon. and learned Friend. On 2 September 1986 the hon. Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. Mullin), after discussing the contents of his book with officials of the Home Office criminal department, agreed to meet officers of the West Midlands police. But when the hon. Member was seen by the assistant chief constable on 23 September 1986, and was asked to provide information supporting his claim to have interviewed people who had committed the Birmingham pub bombings, he declined to do so, and has refused to do so subsequently.

43. Mr. Corbyn

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the chief constable of the West Midlands as to how many hours his force devoted in(a) 1986, (b) 1987, (c) 1988 and (d) 1989 to investigating the claim of the hon. Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. Mullin) to have traced and interviewed all the persons responsible for the Birmingham pub bombings.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. Mullin) on 25 January at column1036. My right hon. and learned Friend referred to the failure of the hon. Member for Sunderland, South to disclose the names of those whom he states are responsible for the Birmingham pub bombings. A considerable amount of time, particularly in 1986, was spent by West Midlands police in attempting to identify those persons whom the hon. Member has in mind. The results of the research were discussed with him, but he neither confirmed nor denied the possible identifications which had emerged.

No records were kept of the specific number of hours dedicated to this research.

35. Mr. Galloway

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a further statement on the Birmingham pub bombings case.

84. Mr. David Young

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a further statement on the Birmingham pub bombings case.

Mr. John Patten

My right hon. and learned Friend is considering very carefully the further material which has been presented to him by a solicitor acting on behalf of the six men convicted of the Birmingham public house bombings, and will decide as soon as possible whether it justifies any intervention on his part.

29. Mr. Tony Lloyd

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has completed his consideration of the new evidence in the case of the Birmingham pub bombings.

41. Mr. Martlew

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has completed his consideration of the new evidence in the case of the Birmingham pub bombings.

44. Mr. John Garrett

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has completed his consideration of the new evidence in the case of the Birmingham pub bombings.

Mr. John Patten

My right hon. and learned Friend has not yet completed his consideration of the further material which has been presented to him by a solicitor acting on behalf of the six men convicted of the Birmingham public house bombings. He will decide as soon as possible whether it justifies any intervention on his part.

27. Ms. Short

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when his Department first became aware of the claim by the hon. Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. Mullin) to have traced and interviewed the persons responsible for the Birmingham pub bombings; and what action was taken.

Mr. John Patten

The Home Office first became aware of the claims of the hon. Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. Mullin) in May 1986, when extracts from his forthcoming book "Error of Judgement" were passed to my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr. Hurd) by my hon. Friend the Member for Harborough (Sir J. Farr). We later obtained a full copy of the book shortly after publication in July 1986. These claims were made before the decision of my right hon. Friend on 20 January 1987 to refer the whole case to the Court of Appeal. The hon. Member for Sunderland, South has been repeatedly asked to make available any relevant material to substantiate his claims. He has not done so.