§ Mr. MaginnisTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many police officers in the Royal Ulster Constabulary are unable to register to vote because 149W of the likelihood of the Provisional IRA using the information contained in the electoral register as a source of information in order to target them.
§ Mr. Cope[holding answer 23 March 1990]: I have no reason to believe that members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary are deliberately not registering as electors.
§ Mr. MaginnisTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he will consider introducing a special confidential register of electors for the Royal Ulster Constabulary through which secure postal voting arrangements could be implemented; and for inclusion in which the Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary would vouch his officers to the chief electoral officer.
§ Mr. Cope[holding answer 23 March 1990]. The introduction of a special confidential register of electors would present practical difficulties and there are no plans to introduce a separate register of this kind. But, as I explained in my reply to a recent question from the hon. Member for Leyton (Mr. Cohen), Official Report, 26 February 1990, column 37, we continue to keep the matter under careful review.