Birmingham Six (No.2)

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.