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Holding Centres
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate she has made of the date on which video and audio-recording equipment will be installed and fully operational in each of the holding centres. [38911]
Mr. Ingram: Silent video recording of police interviews with terrorist suspects became fully operational from midnight on 10 March 1998 in Castlereagh Holding Centre; and work is at an advanced stage to install equipment in Gough Barracks and RUC Strand Road, Londonderry. Provision to enable audio recording of such interviews has been included in the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1998, which received Royal Assent on 8 April. Audio recording will begin after the necessary draft Code of Practice has been drawn up and approved by both Houses of Parliament.
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will consult with the Chief Constable and Independent Commissioner for the Holding Centres in order to draw up RUC Guidelines regulating what officers may say to suspects in the course of interrogation about their legal advisers. [38908]
Mr. Ingram: Only the highest standards of police behaviour are acceptable in all contacts with detained persons. The complaints procedure is well publicised and where a complaint is lodged it will be investigated fully.
Guidelines on access to legal advice in the Holding Centres are set out in the statutory Code of Practice for the Detention, Treatment and Questioning of Persons Detained under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1989, a copy of which is obtainable from the Library of the House.
Patrick Finucane
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will appoint an independent judicial inquiry to investigate the case of Patrick Finucane. [38912]
Mr. Ingram: The murder of Patrick Finucane is the subject of an ongoing RUC inquiry. Three people have already been charged and convicted with possession of the weapon used to kill Mr. Finucane.
Legal Rights
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will repeal the Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 to reinstate the right to silence; and what steps she takes to ensure that the standard for admitting confession evidence conforms to the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order of 1989. [38913]
Mr. Ingram: There are no plans to amend the Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1988. The Order does not end a defendant's right to remain silent. Rather, it enables a court to draw whatever inferences appear proper when a defendant remains silent in circumstances which clearly call for an explanation.
On the latter point, while the law provides for a lower standard of proof for the admissibility of confession evidence in terrorist cases, that provision is currently
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under review. In practice, judges apply the higher Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) standard. Within this framework, the admissibility of confession evidence is subject to judicial discretion.
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans she has to reinstate the right to trial by jury. [38914]
Mr. Ingram:
While the Government wish to reinstate jury trial for all offences as soon as circumstances allow, they cannot do so while a serious risk remains of the criminal justice system being undermined, or of defendants not being guaranteed a fair trial. The Government have no current plans to change the mode of trial for terrorist cases heard in the Northern Ireland courts.
Official Hospitality
Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his current estimate of the expenditure of his Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies on hospitality since 1 May 1997. [27765]
Mr. Spellar: The figure for total expenditure on hospitality incurred by my Department from 1 May 1997 to the end of February 1998 is £4.230M.
This figure reflects expenditure by my Department, the establishments and formations of the Armed Forces at home and abroad and non-Trading Fund Agencies. The figures for Trading Fund Agencies and Non Departmental Public Bodies are not held centrally, but are kept separately by these organisations.
Armoured Vehicles
Mr. Bill Michie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make statement on the Multi-Role Armoured Vehicle Programme. [38101]
Mr. Peter Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the Multi-Role Armoured Vehicle Programme. [39613]
Mr. George Robertson: I am pleased to announce that, together with Germany and France, we intend to develop and produce a family of armoured utility vehicles to meet the requirements of all three nations. The UK needs these vehicles to replace FV430, Saxon and Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) utility vehicles. We plan to sign a Memorandum of Understanding for the joint programme, known in the UK as the Multi-Role Armoured Vehicle, MRAV, covering development and initial production of a total of 600 vehicles. Subject to the completion of the national approvals processes in Germany and France and the negotiation of satisfactory contract terms and conditions, it is intended to place a contract with Eurokonsortium, a consortium including GKN Defence Ltd. from the UK, Krauss-Maffei/ Wegmann and Mak. from Germany, and GIAT from France.
This programme will be managed within the quadrilateral Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation, known as OCCAR, and represents a major
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collaboration with our European allies. Collaboration will bring a number of benefits including improved interoperability and financial savings, through sharing of development costs and economies of scale in production. The project also offers UK industry the opportunity to strengthen its links with the leading companies in the European armoured vehicles industry.
Mr. Livingstone:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Gulf War veterans have been examined by the Medical Assessment Programme in connection with Gulf War Syndrome; and if he will give a breakdown of the illnesses identified by this programme. [38604]
Dr. Reid:
There is no medical or scientific consensus about the nature of the illnesses being suffered by some Gulf veterans or whether there is any commonality between them. The Medical Assessment Programme (MAP) was established by my Department in 1993 with the aim of providing veterans who are concerned about their health following service in the Gulf conflict with a clinical diagnosis of their medical conditions. As at 2 April 1998, 2,285 patients had attended at least one consultation at the Programme and a further 132 had been given appointments and were waiting to be seen. The vast majority of those who have attended the MAP are Gulf veterans themselves. However, where medically appropriate, veterans' partners are also welcome to attend and a small number have done so. In addition, some civilians for whom MOD was responsible during the Gulf conflict have also been seen by the MAP.
A paper analysing the clinical diagnoses of the first 1,000 patients seen by the MAP is close to completion and will shortly be submitted to an external journal for peer review; if accepted, the date of subsequent publication would be a matter for that journal.
Mr. Livingstone:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what work is being carried out by his Department to analyse the chemical warfare mental incapacitant Agent 15; where this work is being conducted; and what is the scientific name of Agent 15. [38606]
Dr. Reid:
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence announced on 9 February 1998, Official Report, columns 3-6, that the Ministry of Defence was considering how best to investigate Agent 15 further. This process continues; we are currently reviewing all available information on this agent and related compounds, with the assistance of CBD Porton Down. No laboratory work is being carried out at present. I expect to make an announcement when this process is complete.
Agent 15 is one of a large group of chemicals known as glycollates (esters of glycollic acid). Its scientific name remains classified for non-proliferation reasons, because it reveals details of the agent's chemical structure and would thus be of value to a country which wished to produce it.
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the service career
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in the Royal Irish Regiment of (a) David Keys, (b) Stephen McClean, (c) Noel McCready and (d) Ryan Robley; on what date each joined the Regiment; and what were the circumstances of their discharge. [38904]
Dr. Reid:
My Department has no record of David Keys having served with the Ulster Defence Regiment or the Royal Irish Regiment.
Ex Private Stephen McClean was enlisted into the Ulster Defence Regiment (part time) on 17 July 1988. He was subsequently enlisted into the full-time element of the Regiment on 1 January 1989. The Ulster Defence Regiment and the Royal Irish Rangers were then amalgamated in 1992 to form the Royal Irish Regiment. Stephen McClean was discharged on 22 September 1993 under the authority of the Ulster Defence Regiment Regulation Paragraph 5.075 (which were still extant) as his services were no longer required.
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