Part of the debate – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 21 Mawrth 1979.
My hon. Friend is quite right when he tries to draw a distinction between those who may be involved in these incidents in Northern Ireland and those who may be involved in this part of the United Kingdom. I shall try to illustrate that in a very simple way.
Northern Ireland is a very sadly divided community. It is divided because of the history of Ireland, because of the political situation, and because of the political happenings over centuries—particularly in this century. It is because of these happenings that a policeman interrogating a suspect is almost certain to be diametrically opposed to that suspect on the ground of political belief, on the ground of religion, and on the ground of race. Before the interrogation begins, there is already this great division between the interrogator and the person being interrogated. It is only natural that in those circumstances violence will be used on occasions by the interrogator.
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has told people in Northern Ireland that the report makes two main recommendations: first, that there should be closed circuit television looking in on the cell in which a person is being interrogated, and, secondly, that there should be readier access—