§ Mr. BatisteTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been detained in the last five years at the Channel ports on suspicion of terrorism, when seeking entry to the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. HurdThe available information is shown in the following table. The information collected centrally does not distinguish whether the person concerned was attempting to enter or to leave the country.
Persons detained at the Channel ports1 under the Prevention of Terrorism legislation Numbers of persons Persons detained Persons examined for more than one hour but not detained2 1983 16 — 1984 4 13 1985 6 12 1986 2 8 1987 5 5 19883 1 — 1 Sea and air ports (excluding Gatwick) on or near the south coast between Land's End and North Foreland. 2 Operative from 27 March 1984. 3 1 January to 31 March.