§ Mr. Peter BottomleyTo ask the Attorney-General (1) if he will list the precedents for examining the evidence at tribunals to discover if all the conclusions remain valid; and if he will re-examine the Widgery tribunal on the same basis;
(2) what procedural methods are available to be used for an official reconsideration and examination of the forensic evidence presented to the tribunal on the deaths in Northern Ireland on 30 January 1972.
§ Dr. MawhinneyI have been asked to reply.
I am not aware of any precedent for the re-examination of evidence presented to a tribunal held under the Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Act 1921 such as that conducted by Lord Widgery into the tragic events in Londonderry on 30 January 1972. The Government accept the conclusion reached by the Royal Commission on Tribunals of Inquiry (Cmnd 3121) in 1966, and endorsed in the White Paper "Tribunals of Inquiry set up under the Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Act 1921" (Cmnd 5313) in 1973, that the findings of such tribunals should be treated as final.