§ Mr. Clayasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills (Mr. Shepherd) on 18 December 1986, Official Report, column 1336, he will give a detailed and referenced account of his Department's attempts to obtain from Dr. Frank Skuse details of the methods used by him in the Griess tests that he conducted on the men convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings.
§ Mr. MellorI shall write to the hon. Member.
§ Mr. Clayasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has anything to add to his explanation of Dr. Frank Skuse's early retirement in his answer of 18 December, Official Report, column 1334.
§ Mr. MellorI regret that the answer I gave on 18 December to a supplementary question from the hon. Member for Sheffield, Brightside (Miss Maynard) was not entirely accurate. The position is as explained in my letter of 23 December to the hon. Member for Brightside and a copy of that letter was placed in the Library.
§ Mr. Clayasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the chief constable of west midlands as to the circumstances in which former Detective Sergeant Brian Morton left the West Midlands police.
§ Mr. MellorNo.
§ Mr. Clayasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in the course of his investigations 485W into the allegations contained in an affadavit by Tom Clarke handed to him on 1 December 1986, he or any of his officials have interviewed (i) Sergeant Dennis Holt, (ii) Detective Constable Jenning, and (iii) Police Constable William Coffey.
§ Mr. MellorNo, but I refer the hon. Member to the statement by my right hon. Friend this afternoon in which he said that the Devon and Cornwall constabulary would be investigating Mr. Clarke's allegations.
§ Mr. Clayasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what occasions he or any of his officials interviewed (a) Police Constable George Cole, (b) Detective Sergeant Alan Watson, (c) Detective Sergeant Michael French, (d) Detective Sergeant James Kelly, (e) former Detective Inspector John Moore or (f) former Detective Superintendent George Reade during his inquiry into the case of the six men convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings.
§ Mr. MellorNone.
§ Mr. Clayasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will list what representations he has received since 1 December 1986 concerning the case of the six men convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings.
§ Mr. MellorSince 1 December 1986 we have received about 70 letters, including some 25 from right hon. and hon. Members forwarding letters from their constituents expressing concern about the safety of the convictions of these six men.
§ Mr. Clayasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department which police force he asked to investigate the claim in Chris Mullin's book, "Error of Judgement", on the Birmingham pub bombings that the men convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings were not responsible for the bombings.
§ Mr. MellorWe sought comments from the west Midlands police on Mr. Mullin's claim that four other men were responsible for the bombings, but did not consider that this claim merited a formal investigation.
§ Mr. Clayasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department which police force he asked to investigate the allegations made against the West Midlands police force by Mr. Tom Clarke in an affidavit delivered to him on 1 December 1986.
§ Mr. MellorI refer the hon. Member to the statement my right hon. Friend made today.
§ Mr. Clayasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps have been taken, if any, to interview (a) Prison Officer Gordon Willingham, (b) Prison Officer Brian Sharp and (c) Prison Officer Patrick Murtagh regarding injuries on the six men convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings at the time of their admission to Her Majesty's prison Winson Green on 25 November 1975.
§ Mr. MellorNone in the course of the recent review of the case.
§ Mr. Clayasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what account has been taken of the unsigned statements of the three prison officers concerning injuries on the six men convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings at the time of their admission to Her Majesty's 486W prison Winson Green on 25 November 1975, which were supplied in October 1985 to the Home Secretary by the hon. Member for Harborough (Sir J. Farr) in his re-examination of the convictions.
§ Mr. MellorMy hon. Friend sent me unsigned statements by six prison officers. We took them fully into account in our review of the case.
§ Mr. Clayasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to produce the playing cards taken at the time of their arrest from five of the six men convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings, to assist in the re-examination of the forensic evidence.
§ Mr. MellorThe disposal of the property of persons later convicted is a matter for the chief constable of the force concerned. Now that the case has been referred to the Court of Appeal, it will be open to the men to ask the court to exercise its power to order the production of anything connected with the proceedings. The playing cards are not in the possession or control of the Home Office, but we shall of course be glad to assist, if we can, in ensuring that they are produced if the court so wishes.
§ Mr. Clayasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if any action has been taken concerning the former director of the Home Office forensic laboratory at Chorley concerning the provision of allegedly incorrect information regarding the Griess test to Granada television.
§ Mr. MellorThe officer concerned has since retired from the public service. According to his own account of the matter, the information which he supplied was based on details given to him by Dr. Skuse. As the hon. Member will know from my right hon. Friend's statement today, the case to which this question relates is being referred to the Court of Appeal.
§ Mr. Clayasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will place in the Library a copy of the guidance note on the Griess test written by Dr. Frank Skuse referred to in his reply to the hon. Member for Sheffield, Brightside (Miss Maynard) on 18 December 1986, Official Report, column 1334.
§ Mr. MellorWe do not think that this would be appropriate. The note contains information which could be of value to terrorists or others who make unlawful use of explosives.
§ Mr. Clayasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the precise date of the guidance note on the Griess test written by Dr. Frank Skuse which he refers to in his reply to the hon. Member for Sheffield, Brightside (Miss Maynard) on 18 December 1986, Official Report, column 1334.
§ Mr. MellorIt is undated, but was circulated for a meeting which took place on 14 February 1975.
§ Mr. Clayasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the percentage strength solution of caustic soda recommended for Griess explosives tests in the methods manual of the Home Office forensic science laboratory at (a) Wetherby, (b) Huntingdon, (c) Chorley, (d) Chepstow, (e) Birmingham and (f) Aldermaston, in the first year after 1974 that each such manual was compiled; and whether there has been any change in those recommended percentages in any year since.
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§ Mr. MellorThe Chorley laboratory methods manual was written in 1976 and prescribed the use of 0.1 per cent. caustic soda/Griess reagent for the presumptive testing of suspected explosives traces. In 1986 the manual was amended to exclude the use of this procedure, thus formalising a situation which had existed since 1981.
The methods manuals of the other Home Office laboratories contain no reference to the use of this technique for the presumptive testing of explosives traces.
§ Mr. Clayasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make available a list of the exhibits produced at the trial of the six men convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings.
§ Mr. MellorA list of exhibits is among papers being returned to the Court of Appeal. It will be open to the defendants or their representatives to apply to the court for access to papers.