§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many punishment beatings have come to the attention of the Royal Ulster Constabulary since the ceasefire; which organisations are thought to have carried them out; and how many arrests have been made of instigators of punishment beatings in the current year. [23041]
§ Sir John WheelerBetween 1 September 1994 and 30 April 1995, a total of 92 so-called punishment beatings took place, of which 35 were attributed to Loyalist and 57 to Republican groups; 80 of these have taken place since 13 October 1994.
Figures for the number of arrests which have been made of instigators of punishment beatings in the current year are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.