§ 32. Rev. Ian Paisleyasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the security situation in Northern Ireland.
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§ Mr. PriorSince my reply to the hon. Member for Liverpool, Scotland Exchange (Mr. Parry) on 8 November—[Vol. 31, c. 66]—12 people have died in incidents arising from the security situation in the Province. Four of these were members of the security forces and eight were civilians. Another person has been kidnapped and efforts to establish his whereabouts have so far proved fruitless.
The Government are determined to defeat terrorism through the resolute and impartial enforcement of the law. They will continue to provide the security forces with the necessary resources. The security forces will not be deterred from doing everything in their power to prevent such senseless acts of terrorism and to bring those responsible to justice. So far this year 650 persons have been charged with terrorist-type offences, including 42 with murder and 91 with attempted murder, and 287 weapons, 35,949 rounds of ammunition, together with 4,1621b of explosives have been recovered.