HC Deb 28 March 1979 vol 965 cc246-57W
Mr. McNamara

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether he will publish in the Official Report the number of arrests and detentions by each regional police force of persons within his responsibility 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;

(2) whether he has refused an extension of five days to the police for the holding of a subject under the Prevention of Terrorism Act; and, if so, how many.

Mr. Merlyn Rees

A total of 3,862 persons were detained in Great Britain under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Acts 1974 and 1976 between 29 November 1974 and 28 February 1979. The numbers of persons detained in each police force area in England and Wales are given in the following table. In addition, 831 people were detained under the legislation in Scotland, in respect of 58 of whom extentions of detention were granted. In no case was an application for an extension of detention refused. Such information from the first quarter of 1979 will in future be published quarterly in a Home Office statistical bulletin.

Police Force Area Number of detentions Extensions of detention granted
Cleveland constabulary 8 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 47 6
Gloucestershire constabulary 11 0
Greater Manchester police 64 3
Hamoshire constabulary 150 67
Hertfordshire constabulary 0 0
Humberside constabulary 9 0
Kent constabulary 48 9
Lancashire constabulary 70 6
Leicestershire constabulary 8 0
Lincolnshire constabulary 2 0
Merseyside police 964 20
Norfolk constabulary 0 0
Northamptonshire police 23 4
Northumbria police 5 o
North Yorkshire police 1 0
Nottinghamshire constabulary 3 0
South Yorkshire police 1 0
Staffordshire police 0 0
Suffolk police 8 0
Surrey constabulary 92 25
Sussex police 37 0
Thames Valley police 17 5
Warwickshire constabulary 0 0
West Mercia constabulary 2 o
West Midlands police. 115 15
West Yorkshire (Metropolitan) police 135 11
Wiltshire constabulary 3 0
Total England 2,844 317
Wales—
Dyfed Powys police 61 0
Gwent constabulary 3 2
North Wales police 55 0
South Wales constabulary 68 2
Total Wales 187 4
Total England and Wales 3,031 321

Mr. McNamara

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many persons have been detained under the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act; how many have been subsequently charged with offences; and with what offences they have been charged;

(2) 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;

(3) of the charges brought against suspects initially held under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act, how many have been dropped before the case was heard, if so, which charges; whether any charges have led to an un- successful prosecution, if so, which charges; whether any charged have led to a successful prosecution; and, if so, in each case, what was the sentence imposed.

Mr. Merlyn Rees

Of the 3,862 persons detained in Great Britain under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Acts 1974 and 1976 between 29 November 1974 and 28 February 1979, 261 have been charged with criminal offences. Details of offences under the prevention of terrorism legislation are shown in table 1 and details of other principal offences are shown in tables 2 and 3 below. Such information from the first quarter of 1979 will in future be published quarterly in a Home Office statistical bulletin.

TABLE 1:
PERSONS DETAINED UNDER THE PREVENTION OF TERRORISM (TEMPORARY PROVISIONS) ACTS 1974 AND 1976 AND CHARGED WITH OFFENCES UNDER THESE ACTS, BY SECTION(S) UNDER WHICH CHARGED AND OUTCOME OF CHARGE*
Great Britain, 29 November 1974 to 28 February 1979
Number of persons charged: Sentences Imprisonment:
Section(s) under which charged Total Not proceeded with Awaiting trial Acquitted Found guilty Fine 1 year and under Over 1 year, up to 5 years Over 5 years
1974 Act:
Section 1(1)(b) (soliciting or receiving money for a proscribed organisation) 4 3 1 1
1976 Act:
Section 1(1)(b) (soliciting or receiving money for a proscribed organisation) 3 2 1 1
Section 9(1) (failure to comply with exclusion order) 2 2 1 1
Section 9(2)(a) (helping excluded person to breach the order) 2 2 1 1
Section 10(1)(a) (soliciting money for use in acts of terrorism) 3 3 2 1
Section 10(1)(b) (receiving money for use in acts of terrorism) 1* 1
Section 10(1) (both of above) 2 1 1 1
Section 10(1) and 10(2) (soliciting and giving money for use in acts of terrorism) 2 2 1 1
Section 11(1) (withholding information about acts of terrorism) 13 11 1‡ 1 1
Schedule 3 (failure to co-operate with examination at port) 1 1 1
Total 33† 12 7 14 3 7 2 2
* Charges of conspiracy to commit offences under the prevention of terrorism legislation are excluded from this table and included in table 2 because this is a common law offence.
† In addition, eight persons were charged with offences under section 10(1)(b) without first having been detained under the Act. Four charges were not proceeded with and four persons were found guilty, three being sentenced to five years' and one to eight years' imprisonment.
‡ Found guilty of harbouring a terrorist and sentenced to two years' imprisonment.

TABLE 2:
PERSONS DETAINED UNDER THE PREVENTION OF TERRORISM (TEMPORARY PROVISIONS) ACTS 1974 AND 1976 AND CHARGED WITH CRIMINAL OFFENCES OTHER THAN UNDER TH ACTS*, BY PRINCIPAL OFFENCE†, WHERE CHARGED AND OUTCOME
Great Britain, 29 November 1974 to 28 February 1979 Number of person
Principal offence† Total Not proceeded with Awaiting trial Acquitted Found guilty
Charged in Great Britain:
Conspiracy to commit offences under prevention of terrorism legislation 25 25
Murder 3 3
Attempted murder 13 10 3
Conspiracy to murder 1 1
Causing/conspiracy to cause explosions 24 2 5 17
Unlawful possession/conspiracy to possess explosives with intent to endanger life 15‡ 2 3 10‡
Other violence against the person 7 1 6
Offences under Firearms Act 1968 13 13
Burglary/aggravated burglary 10 1 1 8
Other Theft Act offences 53 4 6 43
Forgery 1 1
Other offences 25 3 4 1 17
Total charged in Great Britain 190 8 51 13 118
Returned to Northern Ireland and charged:
Murder 3 1 2
Manslaughter
Causing an explosion 6 2 4
Unlawful possession of explosives 4 1 3
Firearms offences 1
Robbery 1
Burglary 5 5
Theft 1 1
Riotous behaviour 1 1
Total charged in Northern Ireland 34 5 1 28

Great Britain, 29 November 1974 to 28 February 1979 Number of person
Principal offence† Total Not proceeded with Awaiting trial Acquitted Found guilty
Returned to the Republic of Ireland and charged:
Causing an explosion 1 1
Burglary 1 1
Theft 2║ 2║
Total charged in the Republic of Ireland 4 1 3
Total 228 13 53 13 149
* Persons charged with offences under the Prevention of Terrorism Acts are included in Table 1 and not this table, even if they were also charged with other offences.
† If charged with more than one offence, the principal offence is that for which the person was found guilty or that for which the most severe sentence was or could be imposed.
‡ One of these persons was originally charged with murder.
§ Three persons found guilty of manslaughter, one of a firearms offence and one of robbery were originally charged with murder.
║ One of these persons was originally charged with burglary.

TABLE 3:
PERSONS DETAINED UNDER THE PREVENTION OF TERRORISM (TEMPORARY PROVISIONS) ACTS 1974 AND 1976 AND FOUND GUILTY OF CRIMINAL OFFENCES OTHER THAN UNDER THE ACTS, BY PRINCIPAL OFFENCE* AND SENTENCE IMPOSED
Great Britain, 29 November 1974–28 February 1979 Number of persons
Non-custodial sentence Custodial sentence Imprisonment
Principal offence of which person was found guilty Total found guilty Absolute or conditional discharge Fine Other Suspended Borstal or detention centre 1 year and under Over 1 year, up to 5 years Over 5 years but not life Life
Tried in Great Britain
Attempted murder 3 3
Causing/conspiracy to cause explosions 17 1 2 14
Unlawful possession/conspiracy to possess explosives with intend to endanger life 10 1 3 6
Other violence against the person 6 1 4 1
Offences under Firearms Act 1968 13 7 1 2 1 1 1
Burglary/Aggravated burglary 8 3 3 2
Other Theft Act offences 43 3 23 3 4 1 6 3
Forgery 1 1
Other offences 17 4 9 4
Total tried in Great Britain 118 8 47 4 6 2 16 9 23 3
Returned to Northern Ireland and tried there
Murder 2 2
Manslaughter 3 3
Causing an explosion 4 3 1
Unlawful possession of explosives 3 1 1 1
Firearms offences 5 4 1
Robbery 4 1 2 1
Burglary 5 1 1 2 1
Theft 1 1
Riotous behaviour 1 1
Total tried in Northern Ireland 28 2 4 3 4 7 6 2
Returned to the Republic of Ireland and tried there
Burglary 1 1
Theft 2 1 1
Total tried in Republic of Ireland 3 1 1 1
Total 149 11 47 5 10 5 21 16 29 5
* See footnote † to table 2.

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 166 exclusion orders were made in Great Britain during the period 29 November 1974 to 28 February 1979 under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Acts 1974 and 1976. Notice of the making of an exclusion order was served on 158 people, 150 of whom were removed, 123 to Northern Ireland and 27 to the Republic of Ireland. A total of 26 of the 158 made representations against the order in accordance with the provisions of the Acts. The order was revoked in respect of seven of them. In addition, one person who made representations after the time limit laid down by the Act had his order revoked. Such information from the first quarter of 1979 will in future be published quarterly in a Home Office statistical bulletin.