Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Bill (1)
01 May 1991
Critics of the Bill have secured some amendments. Powers to seize documents discs etc. to find out if they are "of use to terrorists" will exclude documents where there is "reasonable cause to believe" that they are subject to legal privilege. Secondly, when documents are removed, they will be returned within 48 hours, a period which may be extended to 96 hours on the authority of a senior RUC officer. Documents can be retained if seized for evidential purposes. Thirdly, a written receipt will be provided (as proposed by the Standing Advisory Committee on Human Rights) which records time of seizure and RUC or British Army member responsible. Fourthly, there is an amendment which prohibits the copying of any seized material - "that should provide valuable reassurance that the confidentiality of documents will be respected" claimed Dr Brian Mawhinney, Minister of State at the Northern Ireland Office. The Minister seems to have forgotten that the RUC's reputation for confidentiality is not high following the series of leaks of police files to loyalists which led to the Stevens Inquiry. The Opposition attempt to amend the Bill to tighten up the definition of directing terrorism at any level and to reduce the maximum life sentence for this offence, failed.
A new clause in the Bill introduces the post of Army Ombudsman. This is the British government's response to widespread complaints over the years about the behaviour of the British Army, in particular the Ulster Defence Regiment which many people argue should be disbanded altogether. As of 1 January 1991 the regiment had 3 088 part-time and 2 955 full-time members (Hansard 19.2.91 col 137) Four of the regiment's members are currently protesting their innocence following conviction for the murder of Adrian Carroll in Armagh. The two main points at issue are the authenticity of the confessions and the reliability of eye witness evidence.
Details of the case are discussed in Hansard 6 March cols 342-360.