§ Sir John Biggs-Davisonasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what invitations he and the Chief Constable have extended to representatives of political parties to discuss security; and what has been the response.
§ Mr. PriorOn 24 November 1983, I invited the leaders of the four principal constitutional parties to a meeting to discuss the security situation in Northern Ireland with me. Only the leader of the Alliance party felt able to accept, and I have since had a wide-ranging discussion with him. Earlier this month, I also saw, together and at their request, the leaders of the Ulster Unionist party and the Democratic Unionist party. Further meetings were arranged on both occasions.
The Chief Constable has not extended invitations to representatives of political parties to discuss security. However, as an entirely independent initiative, the police authority for Northern Ireland has invited the leaders of the main constitutional parties to attend separate meetings at its offices to discuss policing matters of mutual interest.
The Chief Constable agreed to attend these meetings to deal with any subject of operational concern. Delegations from the Ulster Unionist party and the Alliance party had such meetings on 3 and 19 January, respectively. I understand that other meetings have already been arranged with representatives of the Workers' party and the Democratic Unionist party. The leader of the Social Democratic and Labour party declined this invitation.