§ 27. Mr. Tony Lloydasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the use of the prevention of terrorism legislation over the recent Christmas period will be included in the first annual review of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1984.
§ Mr. BrittanYes, but Sir Cyril Philips' task is concerned with the pattern of use of the powers under the Act; he will not be reporting in relation to individual cases.
§ 53. Mr. David Atkinsonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further plans he has to combat terrorism.
§ Mr. BrittanI would refer my hon. Friend to my statement of 22 January, at columns 864–876, in which I announced new measures to combat terrorism. The Government will continue to monitor developments closely and give all necessary support to the agencies of240W law and order. We shall also continue to play a full part internationally in encouraging consultation and co-operation with other Governments in this field.
§ Mr. Corbynasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department at what point persons who are detained under the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act are logged as being a notifiable statistic; whether persons interviewed by police officers at ports of entry, including airports, under the provisions of the Act are advised that they are being so detained; how the procedure has varied between the Prevention of Terrorism Acts 1974, 1976 and the 1984 Act; if persons who are asked to fill in a card giving their details and whereabouts whilst in Ireland are notified as being examined under the provisions of the Act; and whether there have been any changes in statistical analysis of persons detained under the provisions of the 1984 Act and of the 1974 and 1976 Acts.
§ Mr. BrittanAll detentions under the Prevention of Terrorism Act or the supplemental order are recorded for statistical purposes. However, a person may be examined at a port for up to 12 hours without being detained; such examinations are recorded after one hour and at that point the person is notified in writing of his position. A person may be required under the supplemental order to complete a landing or embarkation card, but that would not be recorded for statistical purposes unless he was subsequently examined for more than one hour or detained.
There were no specific provisions on the collection of statistics or advice to persons examined in the 1974, 1976 or 1984 Acts. Full statistics on the operation of the legislation have been collected and published from 1979 in a series of quarterly bulletins, following a recommendation by Lord Shackleton; statistics of those examined for more than one hour but not detained have been collected and published from 1984, following a recommendation by Lord Jellicoe.
§ Mr. Tony Lloydasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will indicate the number of people held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act between 1 January 1983 and the present; and of these how many were detained (a) whilst Parliament was in recess and (b) while Parliament was sitting.
§ Mr. Brittan[pursuant to his reply, 21 January 1985, c. 275]: Information on detentions under the Prevention of Terrorism Acts is given in tables 1 and 2 of the latest quarterly Home Office Statistical Bulletin, issue No. 1/85. Of the total of 394 detained in 1983 and 1984, 120 were detained while Parliament was in recess, and 274 while Parliament was sitting.
§ Mr. Tony Lloydasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will indicate the number of people held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act from 1983 onwards together with (a) a breakdown of this total by country of origin, (b) the number of these whose period of detention was extended by his Department who were subsequently charged, (c) the number of these whose period of detention was extended by his Department who were subsequently released without charge and (d) a breakdown of the reasons for his Department's decision to extend the period of detention.
§ Mr. Brittan[pursuant to his reply, 21 January 1985, c. 275]: The available information is given in the 241W following table. I consider personally applications for extensions of detention; each decision is taken on an individual basis and it would not be appropriate for me to discuss the reasons for them.
Persons detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Acts, 1983–84 Great Britain Number Country of birth Number detained of which Detention extended Charged Not charged United Kingdom England 37 3 4 Wales 4 — — Scotland 26 2 10 Northern Ireland 232 1 36 Channel Islands 1 — — Republic of Ireland 42 7 2 Algeria 5 — 4 Australia 3 — 1 Cyprus 2 — — France 1 — — Iran 3 — 2 Jamaica 1 — — Jordan 1 — — Libya 16 3 2 Morocco 1 — — Nigeria 8 2 — Saudi Arabia 1 — 1 South Africa 1 — — Sudan 2 — 1 Tunisia 1 1 — USA 3 — 2 USSR 1 1 — Not recorded 2 — — TOTAL 394 20 65