That this House notes the recent statement by the outgoing Chief constable of the West Midlands police, Mr Geoffrey Dear, that his belief in the guilt of the six men convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings is now stronger than ever; recalls that, according to Mr Justice Bridge, the two planks of the case against the six men were forensic evidence supplied by the Home Office scientist, Dr Frank Skuse, and confessions in the custody of police officers who were mainly members of the Serious Crimes Squad; notes that Dr Skuse has since been required to resign at the age of 51 for limited effectiveness and that most of his evidence in the Birmingham pub bombings case was set aside by the Court of Appeal in 1988; also notes that the West Midlands Serious Crimes Squad has since been disbanded after about 20 people who had confessed in the custody of officers from the Squad were either acquitted, had charges against them dropped or were released on appeal; further notes that in October 1989 the four persons convicted of the Guildford and Woolwich pub bombings had their convictions quashed after their confessions in police custody were found to have been fabricated; finally notes the recent publication of a document, dated November 1975, from police archives quoting an IRA informer, whose information was accurate in every other respect, as supplying the name of a man who placed one of the pub bombs; and invites Mr Dear to explain the basis for his increased certainty in the light of the above.

That this House notes the recent statement by the outgoing Chief constable of the West Midlands police, Mr Geoffrey Dear, that his belief in the guilt of the six men convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings is now stronger than ever; recalls that, according to Mr Justice Bridge, the two...

That this House notes the recent statement by the outgoing Chief Constable of the West Midlands Police, Mr Geoffrey Dear, that 'there is no doubt that the IRA are working with the campaigners' for the six men convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings; draws Mr Dear's attention to the fact that in 1985 the Home Office forensic scientist Dr Frank Skuse, who was the principal witness at the trial of the six, was required to resign for 'limited efficiency' and that most of his evidence in the Birmingham bombings case was set aside by the Lord Chief Justice in 1988; reminds Mr Dear that he himself wound up the West Midlands Serious Crimes squad after police officers had been caught fabricating confessions - the central issue in the pub bombings trial; further reminds Mr Dear that the convictions of the Guildford Four were quashed by the Lord Chief Justice on the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions after their confessions were found to have been fabricated; invites Mr Dear to agree that these are the developments which have undermined public confidence in the safety of the Birmingham pub bombings convictions; further invites Mr Dear to say which of these developments he believes to have been influenced by the IRA; and finally, invites Mr Dear to agree that nothing so much assists the IRA as the now widely held perception that the British state is prepared to tolerate the conviction of innocent men for terrorist offences rather than admit to a mistake.

That this House notes the recent statement by the outgoing Chief Constable of the West Midlands Police, Mr Geoffrey Dear, that 'there is no doubt that the IRA are working with the campaigners' for the six men convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings; draws Mr Dear's attention to the fact...

That this House notes that the outgoing Chief Constable of the West Midlands, Mr Geoffrey Dear, has repeatedly sought to exploit the fact that two of those convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings had, on the morning of the bombings, visited the home of Seamus McLoughlin, a member of the Birmingham IRA; further notes that, on each occasion he has raised this matter, Mr Dear has omitted to mention that they were among several dozen friends and relatives who had gone there to offer condolences to Mrs Jackie McDade, the widow of the IRA man whose remains were being taken to Belfast later that day; recalls that the nature of the gathering and the identity of those attending was well known to the police since they were conspicuously monitoring all comings and goings at the house; and wonders why Mr Dear has chosen to omit these details on each occasion that he has recounted these events.

That this House notes that the outgoing Chief Constable of the West Midlands, Mr Geoffrey Dear, has repeatedly sought to exploit the fact that two of those convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings had, on the morning of the bombings, visited the home of Seamus McLoughlin, a member of the...

That this House notes the recent statement by the outgoing Chief Constable for the West Midlands that the six men convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings 'were members of the IRA one way or another' and that 'it was always concluded that the Birmingham six were at the bottom of that chain of command'; recalls that, according to a statement said to have been obtained on 23rd November 1974 from Hugh Callaghan by DC Roger Ball and DS Raymond Bennett of the West Midlands Serious Crimes Squad, John Walker was a 'brigadier' in the IRA, Richard McIlkenny a 'captain' and the rest 'lieutenants'; further recalls that, in September 1986, West Midlands Assistant Chief Constable Tom Meffen told the honourable Member for Sunderland South and Mrs Gareth Pierce, a solicitor, that the West Midlands police had never alleged that the six were members of the IRA; and invites the West Midlands police to indicate which of these three versions they prefer and then to stick to it.

That this House notes the recent statement by the outgoing Chief Constable for the West Midlands that the six men convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings 'were members of the IRA one way or another' and that 'it was always concluded that the Birmingham six were at the bottom of...