§ Mr. Biggs-Davisonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons wanted by the policein England and Wales in connection with terrorist murders and other terrorist offences are now reported to be in the Republic of Ireland; how many such are now reported to be in other foreign countries; and what requests for extradition have been made.
§ Mr. MayhewThere are no terrorist offences as such in English law. The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis tells me that a number of people are wanted for questioning by the Metropolitan Police in connection with offences believed to be linked with the aims of organisations dedicated to the use of violence for political ends. Four of them are known to be serving long terms of imprisonment in the Republic of Ireland. It is not known how many of the others are in the Republic of Ireland or in other foreign countries.
Between 1975 and January 1981 requests for the extradition of two people accused of such offences were made to the United States of America and to the Netherlands. In both cases extradition was refused. Between 1975 and 1979, 223 warrants for a variety of offences were sent by police forces in England and Wales to the Republic of Ireland for execution there. Of the cases determined, 81 resulted in surrender and 6 in refusal to surrender, two of those on the grounds that the offence was of a political character.