Part of the debate – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 21 Mawrth 1979.
Mr Gerry Fitt
, Belfast West
12:00,
21 Mawrth 1979
That poses the question that I believe must be answered by my right hon. Friend.
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department has said that he has been told by the police that persons who they were convinced were engaged in terrorist activity have been removed by the use of exclusion orders. Chapter 63 of the report states:
The police believe that exclusion has brought about the removal from Great Britain of many of those who were involved in the leadership and organisation of the IRA terrorist campaigns in Great Britain and that this has resulted in considerable disruption of the IRA here.
I find that sentence unintelligible. If the police believe that those persons were involved in furthering the terrorist campaign in Great Britain, why were they not charged? Why were they not brought before a court? Why did they suffer exclusion? Why were they sent back to Northern Ireland? Why were they not charged on leaving the aeroplane at Aldergrove or the Belfast boat? It seems strange that such an assertion is made,
namely, that the police are convinced that these persons were involved in the IRA terrorist campaign in Great Britain and that their exclusion from Great Britain has resulted in considerable disruption to the IRA here.
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