§ Mr. Deedesasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the nature of any amplification of his published statement of 1st June which he made to intermediaries and on the strength of which—when conveyed to them—the Price sisters and others ended their hunger strikes; and what account he took at the time of other Irish prisoners in Great Britain claiming political status.
§ Mr. Brittanasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assurances, if any, were given to Lord Brockway, the hon. Member for St. Pancras, North (Mr. Stallard) and Mr. Devlin as to the circumstances in which, and date when, the Price sisters might be transferred to Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. Biggs-Davisonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make a further statement on the position of the Price sisters.
§ Mr. Roy JenkinsOn 1st June I issued a statement, a copy of which has been placed in the Library, designed to set out my considered view of the position. My hon. Friend, the Member for St. Pancras, North (Mr. Stallard), Lord Brockway and Mr. Devlin asked to see me on 5th June. They sought to clarify that part of my statement which read
I believe it would be possible and reasonable for them"—the Price sisters—to serve the bulk of their long sentences near their homes".I told my hon. Friend and his colleagues that there was no question of negotiation; that I could not and would not change or go beyond my statement in any way; and that I could not deal with the Price sisters in isolation. In this context I explained that the time scale I had in mind when I made my statement of 1st June was a transfer to Northern Ireland 602W in the course of this year, during which period, as I had stated on 19th March and again to the House on 23rd May— [Vol. 874, c. 600]—a move from Brixton would in any event become necessary. I made it clear that such a transfer would inevitably be subject to there being no great outbreak of violence or deterioration in the security situation.