HC Deb 11 July 1988 vol 137 c51W
Mr. Young

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will specify those matters in relation to which Treasury counsel has indicated to the Gibraltar coroner that any members of Her Majesty's forces called to give evidence in the forthcoming inquest will refuse to answer questions; on what grounds this will be done; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Ian Stewart

Prior to the preliminary hearing Treasury counsel indicated to the coroner that, if he were to rule that such questions were relevant for the purposes of the inquest, our position would be that unquantifiable damage would be done to the security of the United Kingdom and Gibraltar unless the following categories of information were protected from disclosure:

  1. a. The identities of members of the security forces, all details of any earlier deployment and (as regards individuals to whom such matters apply) the units with which they were serving, their specialist training and equipment, and previous operations;
  2. b. All and any sources of intelligence information which is material, however indirectly, to the shootings; and
  3. c. Any operational fact which might tend to reveal anything in (a) or (b) above, or any other intelligence which might be useful to the Crown on other occasions.

The two imperatives underlying this are the need to protect the integrity of military and security operations; and the need to protect the safety of security force personnel and their families, and their future usefulness.

Mr. Mullin

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what compensation has been paid to Mr. Vic Adams of Station road, Bolton on Dearne, arising from his presence at the scene of the Gibraltar shootings; and on what terms.

Mr. Ian Stewart

I can confirm that my Department considered a claim for compensation for Mr. Victor Adams on the normal basis of legal liability, and that compensation has been paid to Mr. Adams. It is not our practice to discuss details of settlements which are regarded as private between the Department and the individual concerned.