§ Mr. Stratton Millsasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) if he will make a statement on Operation Motorman;
(2) if he will make a statement on the security situation since Operation Motorman.
§ Mr. David HowellI would refer my hon. Friend to the statement made to the House by my hon. Friend the then Minister of State on 31st July, the day on which Operation Motorman was mounted. That operation put an end to the no-go areas, and as a military operation with that objective it was a total success.
Since that day the security situation in Northern Ireland has improved. The evidence for this is the marked decline in the number of shooting and bombing incidents; the increasing number of arrests of known Provisional IRA officers, of whom more than 150 have been arrested since Motorman; and the very large finds of firearms, ammunition, and explosives made by the security forces. The security forces will continue their operations against terrorism until the violence ends.—[Vol. 842, c. 31–42.]