HC Deb 09 February 1979 vol 962 cc314-7W
Mr. McNamara

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons have been detained under the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act; how many have subsequently been charged with offences; and with which offences they have been charged.

Mr. Merlyn Rees

The information requested is not readily available and I shall publish it in theOfficial Report as soon as possible.

Mr. McNamara

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons have been charged with offences under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act; and under which sections of the Act the charges have been brought.

Mr. Merlyn Rees

Numbers of persons charged with offences under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Acts 1974 and 1976 in Great Britain are as follows:

Act and Section Number of persons charged
1974–1(1)(b) 4
1976–1(1)(b) 3
9(1) 2
9(2)(a) 2
10(1)(a) 3
10(1)(b) 9*
10(1) 2
10(1) and 10(2) 2
11(1) 13
40*
* Eight of these persons were not detained initially under the Act.

Mr. McNamara

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons have been served with exclusion orders under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act; how many have been deported (a) to Northern Ireland and (b) to the Republic of Ireland; how many have appealed against exclusion orders; and how many appeals have been successful.

Mr. Merlyn Rees

A total of 165 exclusion orders have been made under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Acts 1974 and 1976. Notice of the making of an exclusion order has been served on 157 people, 149 of whom have been removed, 121 to Northern Ireland and 28 to the Republic of Ireland. A total of 27 of the 157 made representations against the order. The order was revoked in eight of these cases.

Police force area Number of detentions Number of applications for extensions of detention
England—
Metropolitan Police 839 126
Avon and Somerset constabulary 41 3
Bedfordshire police 50 0
Cambridgeshire constabulary 0 0
Cheshire constabulary 8 1
City of London police 26 8
Cleveland constabulary 7 1
Cumbria constabulary 5 2
Derbyshire constabulary 2 0
Devon and Cornwall constabulary 32 5
Dorset police 16 0
Durham constabulary 1 0
Essex police 45 6
Gloucestershire constabulary 11 0
Greater Manchester police 64 3
Hampshire constabulary 148 67
Hertfordshire constabulary 0 0
Humberside constabulary 8 0
Kent constabulary 48 9
Lancashire constabulary 69 6
Leicestershire constabulary 8 0
Lincolnshire constabulary 2 0
Merseyside police 945 20
Norfolk constabulary 0 0
Northamptonshire police 23 4
Northumbria police 5 0
North Yorkshire police 1 0
Nottinghamshire constabulary 3 0
South Yorkshire police 1 0
Staffordshire police 0 0
Suffolk police 8 0
Surrey constabulary 83 25
Sussex police 35 0
Thames Valley police 17 5
Warwickshire constabulary 0 0
West Mercia constabulary 2 0
West Midlands police 113 14
West Yorkshire (Metropolitan) police 135 11
Wiltshire constabulary 3 0

Mr. McNamara

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) on how many occasions he has refused an extension of five days to the police for the holding of a subject under the prevention of Terrorism Act;

(2) whether he will publish in the Official Report the number of arrests and detentions by each regional police force of persons under the terms of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act; in how many cases applications were made for detention to be extended by a further five days; and in how many cases it was refused.

Mr. Merlyn Rees

A total of 3,782 persons have been detained in Great Britain under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Acts 1974 and 1976. The numbers of persons detained in each police force area in England and Wales are are follows:

Police force area Number of detentions Number of applications for extensions of detention
Wales—
Dyfed Powys police 61 0
Gwent constabulary 3 2
North Wales police 53 0
South Wales constabulary 63 2
2,984 320

In addition, 798 people have been detained under the legislation in Scotland in respect of 41 of whom extensions of detention were granted.

In no case has an application for an extension of detention been refused.

Mr. McNamara

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, of the charges brought against suspects initially held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, if any have been dropped before the case was heard, if so, which charges; if any charges have led to an unsuccessful prosecution, if so, which charges; if any charges led to a successful prosecution; and, if so, what was the sentence imposed.

Mr. Merlyn Rees

The information requested is not readily available and I shall publish it in theOfficial Report as soon as possible.