Examination of Witnesses (Questions 218
- 219)
WEDNESDAY 10 JANUARY 2001
ASSISTANT CHIEF
CONSTABLE ALAN
MCQUILLAN,
OBE, AND INSPECTOR
BOB MCGARRY
Chairman
218. I recall our exchange at the beginning
of the last occasion on which you gave evidence. I do not know
whether we owe you an apology for bringing you back so soon to
give evidence before us, but we all remember with pleasure and
admiration the evidence you gave us on the other inquiry. We did
have a discussion as to what we should call you and I think we
decided that you would be quite happy with whatever we called
you. I will run through our ground rules again because you have
Inspector McGarry with you and it is probably better for him to
have heard what our ground rules are. They are that we will take
questions in what we perceive to be a logical order. You should
feel totally free to gloss any answer you wish to gloss on subsequent
reflection, either here or in writing afterwards, and equally
we will feel free, having read the transcript, if there are some
questions which we feel we should have asked but did not, to come
back to you afterwards in writing. Is there anything you would
like to say to us beyond what is already provided to us?
(Mr McQuillan) No, sir. The one thing I would say,
and we have not really covered this in the memorandum of evidence,
is that the issue of parades, as with the last time, has to be
set in context. There is a whole series of factors that affect
the nature of the problems. The relationship between communities
is one factor in that and also the political state of the Province
and the state of political tensions and the way in which some
of the paramilitary groups will seek to manipulate that at any
given time. Re-reading the memorandum, I do not think that I really
brought that out. I think this is part of the fact that the parades
problem encapsulates the problems of Northern Ireland in many
ways.
219. Thank you very much indeed for that. You
are very welcome. I will, as I have on previous occasions, ask
ground-clearing questions and then we will go wider with colleagues.
Before the Parades Commission was set up the RUC was responsible
for decisions on parades.
(Mr McQuillan) That is correct, sir.
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