The murder of Carl Bridgewater has unleashed a multitude of theories, conspiracies, scapegoats and excuses over the last 17 or so years—most of which have been eagerly recounted by hon. Members. Before I deal with the unsatisfactory story of the incarceration of the four convicted, let me make it clear that the first thought of many of us—particularly hon. Members on Government Benches—is for the victim and his family. As my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, the hon. Member for Leeds, North-East (Mr. Kirkhope), said: I hope that all hon. Members will also bear in mind the appalling time that the family of young Carl Bridgewater have had. They have suffered terribly, and the continuing publicity and time involved in considering representations are causing them even more suffering."—[Official Report, 15 February 1996; Vol. 271, c. 1132.] If Carl had been spared his ordeal at Yew Tree farm in 1978, he would be just a few years younger than I am now. Nothing will ever compensate his family for his loss. What will always make me and others feel a little more whole, a bit more secure, is the knowledge that the real murderers are behind bars and that they are being punished as severely as society will allow. What must be causing untold distress to Carl's family is not so much the seeming uncertainty that surrounds the four convictions, but the continuing publicity that is accorded to the death of their boy. Paul Foot, who has been eulogised many times, said in his book "Murder at the Farm": Each time the case got any publicity, they said, the suffering of that awful September came back to haunt them. Whoever did the murder was to them of small significance compared to the fact that their son was gone. Between 1981 and 1987, there were four secret police inquiries into new evidence, which have cast doubt on those convictions. In 1987, the then Home Secretary, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr. Hurd), referred the case to the Court of Appeal. The appeal lasted nine weeks through 1988 and 1989 and was dismissed. In February 1993, the then Home Secretary, the current Chancellor of the Exchequer, turned down leave for appeal by the three men on the ground that the new evidence presented to him did not cast doubt on the convictions. New evidence has been presented to the Home Secretary, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Mr. Howard), and as the Home Office press release of 7 December 1995 put it: The Home Secretary has not decided whether to refer the case to the Court of Appeal, although at present he is minded not to do so. As someone who takes a slightly different line on this matter from Labour Members, I, too, am appalled at the length of time it is taking for the case to be fully closed. It seems to me that it will never go away.

The point I want to make about the convictions must be prefaced by my belief that, of course, if the men's convictions are found to be unsafe, they should be freed. No one, no matter how unsavoury, should be locked away for any longer than they deserve. I say "longer than they deserve" because it is a fact that we are not yet dealing with victims when we talk about Patrick Molloy, Vincent Hickey, Michael Hickey or Jimmy Robinson. I am sure that their families have been badly affected by their long incarceration, especially Molloy's family because he died while in prison. However, the only victims in this case, as I understand it, are Carl Bridgewater and his family.

Many aspects of the case are unsatisfactory. In my view, the rooftop protests of Michael Hickey and Jimmy Robinson suggest that there is a strong grievance inside these men. The excruciating investigation into this case carried out by Paul Foot, Ann Whelan, Michael Hickey's mother, and others has cast a suspicion that the Home Secretary and the courts could throw out this case 100 times and the defence would still come back for more.