§ Rev. Ian Paisleyasked the Minister of State for Defence under what circumstances a soldier was shot and injured in Londonderry on or about Wednesday, 5th May; what sort of gun was used; and what arrest or arrests have been made.
§ Mr. G. Johnson SmithIn the early hours of Thursday, 6th May, an off-duty soldier was attacked by three men in Londonderry. He broke free from his attackers, but one of them fired two shots at him from a sub-machine gun type of weapon, and a bullet passed through his left hand. No arrests have so far been made.
§ Rev. Ian Paisleyasked the Minister of State for Defence if he will make a statement about the explosion which blasted an Army landrover occupied by six members of the Ulster Defence Regiment on the Londonderry-Donegal border in the early morning of Saturday, 8th May; what injuries the soldiers received; to what extent the landrover was damaged; 124W and what information he has concerning those responsible for this action.
§ Mr. G. Johnson SmithAt about 3.15 a.m. on 8th May a landrover occupied by six members of the Ulster Defence Regiment was ambushed near the unauthorised border crossing point at Glen-bridge. The vehicle was blown into a ditch by two manually operated and electrically initiated explosive charges. Three of the vehicle's occupants suffered cuts, bruises and shock. The damage to the landrover's chassis was slight, but the bodywork was severely damaged and will need to be replaced. It would be contrary to the public interest to reveal the progress of investigations into the attack.
§ Rev. Ian Paisleyasked the Minister of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his visit to Northern Ireland.
§ Lord BalnielI visited troops in Northern Ireland from 3rd to 5th May. As always, I found them in good heart, and I was impressed by the increasingly good collaboration between the Army and the R.U.C. and by the increasing success of operations by the security forces. I paid calls during my visit on the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and on the Chief Constable.
§ Rev. Ian Paisleyasked the Minister of State for Defence what further steps he now proposes to take to ensure security for Army barracks and off-duty personnel in Northern Ireland in future, in view of the damage caused by a bomb to St. Lucia Barracks, Derry Road, Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, on 21st April, 1971.
§ Mr. G. Johnson SmithFurther measures for the safety of Army installations have been taken where appropriate, but it is not the practice to give details of these. So far as the security of off-duty personnel is concerned, I have nothing to add to the answer I gave to the hon. Member on 3rd May.—[Vol. 816, c. 282.]