MR. JOHN STALKER

HL Deb 04 April 1990 vol 517 cc1502-4WA

Lord Gainford

asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they have completed their consideration of the document handed to them on 25th January by Mr. John Stalker.

Earl Ferrers

My right honourable friend has now completed his study of this document, which is a typed copy of manuscript notes from the diary of Sir John Hermon, then Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, relating to the period 16th May 1986 to 2nd June 1986. He has also further examined the statement which Mr. Stalker issued to the press at the same time.

Mr. Stalker drew particular attention to two entries in Sir John Hermon's diary. The first, under the heading "18th May 1986-Sunday", records a telephone call to Sir John from Sir Philips Myers, Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary. At the end the following words appear: Mentioned a CC seeing BS RA TK and that DH was au fait with developments".

Sir John Hermon has confirmed that the persons referred to by their initials were Sir Barry Shaw, then Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland, Sir Robert Andrew, then Permanent Under-Secretary of State at the Northern Ireland Office, my right honourable friends the Secretary of State for Defence (then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland) and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (then Secretary of State for the Home Department). Sir John has also confirmed that "a CC" meant a chief constable and that he did not, at that time, know the identity of that chief constable. He was, however, in no doubt that Sir Philip was talking about future contacts between a chief constable and the persons identified by their initials.

Sir Philip Myers has confirmed that the chief constable, to whom he referred but did not name in the conversation recorded by Sir John Hermon, was in fact Mr. Colin Sampson, then Chief Constable of the West Yorkshire Police, who was subsequently to replace Mr. Stalker as leader of the inquiry in Northern Ireland. Mr. Sampson has confirmed that he knew nothing about the possibility that Mr. Stalker might be the subject of an investigation before he attended a meeting at Scarborough on 19th May chaired by the then HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary (Sir Lawrence Byford). The other persons present at that meeting were Sir Philip Myers, Mr. James Anderton (Chief Constable of the Greater Manchester Police), Mr. Ralph Lees (Assistant Chief Constable, Greater Manchester Police) and a staff officer. That was the meeting at which Mr. Anderton decided to refer certain information relating to Mr. Stalker to his police authority.

Against this background, it is a matter for regret that, in his published statement of 25th January, Mr. Stalker misquoted Sir John Hermon's diary entry so as to make it refer to Sir Philip Myers telling him that, "a Chief Constable has seen BS RA and TK and that DH was au fait with developments", with a clear implication that the entry referred to events that had already taken place. In fact, Mr. Sampson had at that time seen none of the persons to whom Sir John was referring.

As regards the words "DH was au fait with developments", it would have been perfectly natural for Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary to have informed the Home Secretary that problems were arising in relation to Mr. Stalker's position, but there is now no other record to show whether he did so prior to 19th May. My right honourable friend's recollection is that he was first informed after 19th May.

The second diary entry to which Mr. Stalker has drawn special attention appears under the heading "May 30. 1986-Friday". It contains the following words "Expressed concern regarding structure of enquiry. Clearly collusion between PM/RA/CS and DPP. I must hold the line". By the time this entry was made, Mr. Stalker had already been placed on extended leave. Sir John Hermon has confirmed that this was a reference to the arrangements for the appointment of a replacement for Mr. Stalker and to arrangements for the continuance of the inquiry, about which he felt, at that time, that he was not being adequately consulted. He has also said publicly that nothing sinister should be read into the "collusion" in this context and that he regrets both its use and the subsequent publication of what were intended to be purely personal notes. My right honourable friend is entirely satisfied that, contrary to the assertion made by Mr. Stalker in his statement of 25th January, Sir John Hermon's diary entry for 30th May 1986 had nothing whatever to do with Mr. Stalker's removal from the inquiry in Northern Ireland.

The facts leading to the removal of Mr. Stalker from the Royal Ulster Constabulary investigation are straightforward. During the course of a criminal investigation in Greater Manchester unconnected with the inquiry in Northern Ireland, information came to light which cast doubt on Mr. Stalker's conduct. The information was referred to the Greater Manchester Police Authority, which decided that there should be an investigation into the conduct of Mr. Stalker and placed him on leave of absence. They were the disciplinary authority for Mr. Stalker, and the decision was entirely a matter for them. An officer who is under investigation himself cannot continue an investigation into the actions of officers in another force, since doubts about his probity must cast doubt on any work which he does. Mr. Stalker therefore had to be replaced as leader of the investigation in Northern Ireland.