Mr. Wm. Rossasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many soldiers, RUC members, RUCR members and UDR members were involved in each of the twice-weekly searches to which he referred in the Official Report, 14th tune, column 49;
(2) if he will list the weeks during which the twice-weekly searches of every house in Londonderry, to which he referred in the Official Report, 14th June, column 49, took place; how long each search took; what illegal weapons, explosives, etc., were recovered in each search: and what sums were involved in claims for compensation paid for damage to houses in respect of each such search to the housing executive and to private owners.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesThe purpose of my remarks on 14th June was to draw attention figuratively to the modification of security forces' activity in the early months of 1975 which was made possible by the reduced level of violence at that time. During February, March and April 1974 the Army undertook 3,245 searches of houses in Londonderry, but only 218 during the corresponding period of 1975. I regret that the detailed information requested is either not available or could not be provided without disproportionate effort.