Jim Shannon
MP for Strangford · Democratic Unionist Party · United Kingdom
“I thank the Minister for those answers. This has happened three times in three years. Normally, on the third strike, you are out. Instead, the chief executive gets an £871,000 bonus. For people in Northern Ireland, a flight to Great Britain is a basic utility. When NATS crashed, my constituents were entirely cut off.”
“When it comes to lobbying, Northern Ireland has a peculiar circumstance where one party can be involved in politics in Northern Ireland and at the same time be involved in politics in the Republic of Ireland. When it comes to the accountability that the hon.”
“Member for North East Fife referred to this—everybody knew every officer in the area where they lived. Different times mean different pressures and different needs, but I have always supported community policing in all my years as an elected representative, throughout my time on the council and in the Northern Ireland Assembly before comi…”
“I will say this to the Minister: although policing is a devolved matter for us back home, I want to make some comments, if I may, about the focus of the police, which means they sometimes do what is unnecessary. I will give an example.”
“The hon. Gentleman is a Leicester City supporter, as I am; we do not have to seek our sorrows at this moment in time, but that is by the way. More importantly, his comments underline the issues for local independent pharmacy owners. As the hon.”
“That is the reality for these people, who have consciences, feel compassion and want to care for their patients and customers. The impact is clear, because almost 90% of pharmacies in Northern Ireland were unable to pay their wholesaler bill in January. Think about what that means for a second: that is real pressure.”
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“For years we have listened to grand promises from the Dispatch Box, yet instead of using counter-terrorism legislation to immediately ban that hostile state entity, the Government have nested the issue within a broader and delayed legislative framework. Such tactical evasion exposes a worrying vulnerability; we are creating new bureaucratic hoops, rather than enacting an outright immediate ban. As I said at the beginning of my remarks, the King’s Speech is a curate’s egg. I have spoken about the good things in it, and I also wanted to highlight some of the things that I and my party have concerns about. It is always a pleasure to see the Under-Secretary of State for Scotland, the hon. Member for Midlothian (Kirsty McNeill), in her place. I wish her well in her job.”
“The Leader of the Liberal Democrats mentioned the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the commitment that the Government have made. I welcome that commitment. Thirty thousand—perhaps as many as 40,000—people were arrested for peacefully protesting on the streets. They were put in jail, and many of them have been executed just for standing up for freedom, verbally—not having taken any physical action. The week before last, when we were about to enter Prorogation, six Iranian ladies who protested on the streets were facing execution. It is for those who want freedom that I make these comments. Perhaps we need not hesitation, but a timescale for the direct and immediate proscription of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.”
“We are not a bargaining chip; we are part of this great United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It gives me great pride and pleasure to say that, because I mean it from the bottom of my heart. I am proud to have a British passport and to be a member of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. We in Northern Ireland, Unionists that we are, deserve to have the same declaration and recognition. We demand a clear road map to eliminate internal trade friction, scrap the Irish sea border, and fully restore our place in the United Kingdom internal market. The Democratic Unionist party will continue to challenge this legislative programme at every turn, fighting for real justice for our veterans and the complete restoration of our constitutional rights.”
“Perhaps this is one of those times when silence has spoken more clearly than words ever could, and perhaps the Government need to be reminded that we, the people of Ulster, will not be silent. We demand that our Government recognise the disgraceful impact of the framework and prioritise its dismantling. If Great Britain aligns with those rules, there is no longer even a flawed logistical excuse for maintaining an artificial barrier in the Irish sea. The continued enforcement of the Winsor framework remains a direct unconstitutional assault on Northern Ireland’s economic and political place in the United Kingdom. If the Government genuinely desire a fairer path that unlocks hope, they must immediately stop treating Northern Ireland as a bargaining chip.”
“If the rest of the United Kingdom is set to follow EU regulations, the Government must answer a fundamental question: where is the road map for moving entirely beyond the Windsor framework, and how has any discussion of legislation on the European question taken place without even a nod towards those of us in Northern Ireland who have been used and abused by the EU, in order to negate the democratic will of the people of this United Kingdom? If the Prime Minister and the Labour Government have set their eyes and their focus on closer ties, please ensure that we in Northern Ireland are on the same page. I seek a renegotiation for ourselves, and a place for us at the table. Others may say that, too, in the other days of debate on the King’s Speech.”
“I have an ask for the Labour Government and the Ministers in their place—I am very respectful of the two Ministers here, and I always will be. Northern Ireland’s position, at this moment, is not the same as the United Kingdom’s. If we are to have a renegotiation, and closer ties with the EU, I ask that we be put at the forefront of the Prime Minister’s and the Labour Government’s intentions. The Prime Minister intends to align Great Britain more closely with European laws.”
“I put on the record that I am a Brexiteer, and I voted to leave—and we did not get all we wanted in Northern Ireland, unlike the rest of the United Kingdom. You will forgive me, Madam Deputy Speaker, for refusing to offer commentary on the inner workings of any party. I said the other day that I will make no mention of what is happening in Labour, because that is its decision, and I will leave that with Labour; but the effect of what is happening on my nation, on Northern Ireland, must be recognised. There appears to be a desperate scramble for a closer relationship with Brussels, yet one of the main casualties of our relationship with the EU has been Northern Ireland. In the Brexit process, we received callous treatment, yet not one single word has been uttered about renegotiation.”
“It really vexes me, as a Unionist and a Democratic Unionist party MP, to recognise that the Republic of Ireland Government have more say in this process than I have—someone who lost family members to the IRA campaign, and who represents, in Strangford, many of those who served and who also lost loved ones. The Democratic Unionist party will always stand firmly against any process that aims to rewrite the past, shield terrorists or treat our brave security forces as anything less than the defenders of democracy. It is a disgrace that Westminster is ignoring domestic consensus to satisfy a foreign jurisdiction, because that is what the Republic of Ireland is, and that there was no reference to reform, or even a nod to the massive work that must be done. We also heard about the Government’s grand design for an EU reset.”
“Although we know that it is being carried over from the last Session, there was not much mention of it today—but Opposition Members certainly referred to it. Let us be completely clear about what is happening. This legislation is being pushed forward, despite having zero support from the people who matter most: our victims, our survivors, and our courageous veterans—those with the clean hands and the aching hearts. Instead of listening to the families who carried the heaviest burdens during the dark years of terror, the Government have chosen to bend the knee to intense pressure from the Dublin Government.”
“The Government speak of a stronger and fairer United Kingdom, but what this Government say, through His Majesty King Charles, tells a different story for Northern Ireland. Unionists judge a Government not by their rhetoric, but by their respect for the constitutional integrity of our nation and their commitment to fundamental justice. On both counts, this legislative agenda unfortunately falls profoundly short. Indeed, I listened intently to discover exactly where Northern Ireland was in the plan put forward in the King’s Speech, and I struggled to find its role in it, and that is worrying to the extreme. Nowhere is that failure more evident than in the Government’s decision to carry over the highly contentious Northern Ireland Troubles Bill.”
“It is time that we had a partnership with Ukraine, so that we can be involved in drone technology and the changes in how warfare is conducted. I thank the Labour Government very much for lifting all those children out of poverty. That moves me greatly, because I see lots of young children in poverty in my constituency. Sixty-thousand children in Northern Ireland were lifted out of poverty by what this Government have done. I thank them for what they have done on those three issues. I always try to be decent in my contributions—they are never meant to be adversarial—but I have to record some of the points that concern me. The King’s Speech laid bare the true priorities of this Administration. Let me speak from a Unionist point of view.”
“It is really important that it is grasped, and I hope that the forthcoming Bill and the directive that comes from the top, from the Prime Minister, will address the issue. For that to happen, we need resources, so I hope that on Wednesday night, when we finish these debates, a financial commitment will be made. I also welcome the Government’s commitment to the defence funding target. In an intervention on the hon. Member for North Cotswolds (Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown), I referred to the importance of changing technology in defence. For instance, in the last few weeks, there has been lots of talk in the papers about Ukraine grasping new drone technology in a way that no other country in the world has done.”
“Gentleman is a great asset to this House, and his speech seconding the motion was worthy of this place. We thank both him and the hon. Member for Bradford West for their contributions. My comments about the King’s Speech will be in two parts. We have all heard about the curate’s egg: it was good in parts. I want to speak first about the good things that I see in the King’s Speech, and then I want to refer to some specifics about Northern Ireland. I very much welcome the Government’s commitment to addressing the issue of antisemitism. The Prime Minister and the Labour Government have grasped the importance of the escalation in antisemitism in this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.”
“Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. You caught me off guard there. I am used to being the last to speak. You are very kind to invite me to participate. Can I first of all give special thanks to the hon. Member for Bradford West (Naz Shah) for her speech? I get on well with her, and she gave me her book as a gift; I read it from beginning to end. I was very moved by her contribution. For me, she epitomises strength of character and courage, despite all the hard things that life threw agin her. She was able to overcome them, and she is a lady of exceptional talent. I want to put that on record. The hon. Member for Milton Keynes Central (Emily Darlington) said that the hon. Member for Harlow (Chris Vince) mentioned Harlow 35 times in his speech. I thought it was more! I never was very good at mathematics. The hon.”
“I thank the hon. Lady for her contribution. Does she not agree that it is only fair that we should record David Attenborough’s 100th birthday? He epitomises the very person we would like to see and the world he wishes to preserve. Does she, along with me and others in this House, wish him well on his 100th birthday?”
“I commend the hon. Member on bringing this debate forward. What he is explaining happens round my way regularly. It is a scandal when hard-working people put all their life savings into a new-build home and then find that the estate’s roads are not even completed. The Department for Infrastructure back home is unwilling to take over the work, so the only way forward is through maintenance fees, and they rise every year. Does the hon. Member agree that the Government and the Minister, who is always very responsive to our requests, should bring forward clear guidance, for all the regions of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, that maintenance fees must be kept to the bare minimum?”
“The Minister probably know what my question is going to be before I have even asked it: will he share his ideas and his conclusions on the way forward with the relevant Minister back home? If the Minister has a way of doing it better, we need to know it as well.”
“I thank the right hon. Member for bringing this issue forward. I remind him of the cautionary tale from Northern Ireland. We operate without a CIL-style levy. Instead, we rely on bespoke section 76 agreements, which avoid the tax-like rigidity of CIL. That has left us in Northern Ireland with a multibillion-pound funding gap for infrastructure—specifically, for our waste water systems—which is now halting thousands of developments across 25 cities and towns in our 11 council areas. Does he agree that we must ensure that this measure is not just a sales tax on development value but a ringfenced guarantee for the specific pipes and roads that make those homes habitable? The cautionary tale from Northern Ireland is an example of where this has gone wrong.”
“I congratulate the hon. Member on securing this debate. On profitability, the Treasury has treated agriculture support as a discretionary expense. Does he agree that we need an increased, ringfenced, multi-annual farm support budget that is fully inflation-proof, taking into account the fact that otherwise we cannot expect our farmers to meet world-leading animal welfare standards?”
“The residents in my neck of the woods are decent, hard-working people, many of them elderly, who put every penny they have into their homes, but who often find themselves caught in a gap between the legislation we have here in Westminster and what is delivered back home in Northern Ireland. We must be very clear: a home is a home, whether it is built of bricks and mortar or a high-quality residential mobile home on a licensed site.”
“It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Alec. I thank the hon. Member for Rushcliffe (James Naish) for bringing to the Chamber this vital debate on a matter that strikes at the very heart of many of my constituents, and indeed of many people across the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as it concerns retirement and peace of mind. It is good to see the Minister in his place, and I wish him well in his role. As always, I have asks of him, and will come to those in my conclusion. In Ballyhalbert and Cloughey in my constituency, we have two park home sites. I have had a long working relationship with them and the group association over the years.”
“Thirdly, on site licensing and enforcement, we need to ensure that local councils in Northern Ireland have the teeth needed to deal with those few site owners who harass or bully residents. A fit and proper persons test must be as meaningful in Comber or Newtownards as it is in Cornwall. I have highlighted the Northern Ireland question and the role that perhaps the Minister will kindly take on for us in relation to the Minister back home, Gordon Lyons. Will the Minister commit to a meeting or corresponding with the relevant Minister in Northern Ireland to ensure that the legislative gaps are closed and that my constituents in Strangford can sleep easy knowing that their homes and rights are protected?”
“I will not take the extra minute, Sir Alec, because I am conscious of other Members wanting to speak, but I will highlight three specific points that must be addressed. The first is the 10% commission fee. It is a hidden and heavy burden for an elderly person to face a 10% exit fee just to move into a care home or to be closer to family. We need parity across the United Kingdom in how those fees are regulated. That is my first request of the Minister. My second request relates to energy costs. Many of my constituents are off-grid and rely on liquefied petroleum gas or supplied electricity. I thank the Government for the warm home discount, but it is often a struggle for those residents to access it. We need a system that is automatic, not one that requires a senior citizen to jump through digital hoops.”
“My hon. Friend sums up some of the issues. It is a question of getting that balance. I am worried, as I often am, that our constituents in the Province are being left behind. We have seen the Mobile Homes Act bring protections to those in England and Wales by dealing with those rogue site owners who, frankly, are more concerned with profit than they are with people’s right to live in peace and contentment, but we in Northern Ireland are still waiting for the same robust approach. I know that the Minister is very responsive to the requests of us all. My ask of him is to engage with the Minister back home to ensure that what is happening here will happen for people in Northern Ireland as well.”
“As the hon. Gentleman says, it is important that no one is left behind. Does he agree that the devolved regions are sometimes left behind? We must remember that we have a world-class cyber ecosystem at Queen’s University Belfast, with thriving tech start-ups across Northern Ireland. Will he join me in asking the Minister what steps have been taken to ensure that the £7 million joint research programme on future telecoms and the new connectivity and innovation centre are directly accessible to firms in Strangford and across Northern Ireland, as well as the UK mainland?”
“The hon. Member is making an excellent speech, with plenty of thoughts for the Minister to reply to. We probably all agree that student exchange is important. The hon. Member showed his knowledge of Queen’s University Belfast, and I thank him for that, but student exchange also matters when it comes to technology and working together. Does he agree that, although we must always focus on immigration, we should perhaps look at and do more with the good points of student exchanges, which create opportunities for UK students as well as those from India?”
“Let us stand together to ensure that this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a place where every child is protected and where no parent ever has to face the agony of an empty bed because of a blatant disregard for our laws. Our laws have to be paramount, and they have to work for the people. Our duty today in this House is to ensure that our Government can provide that for them.”
“If someone’s child is away somewhere where they feel powerless, unable to do something, that must weigh heavily on their shoulders, both physically and emotionally. We need very swift and decisive action and seamless co-operation between the Police Service of Northern Ireland, the Home Office and international partners such as Interpol. We must continue to press for a justice system that is responsive, a border that is secure against such activity and a law that puts the best interests of the child at the heart of everything we do. I look forward very much to the contributions from the shadow Minister, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson and the Minister in particular. I will conclude with this.”
“When a child from Northern Ireland is taken to a foreign jurisdiction, they should be returned promptly so that our local courts can decide what is in their best interests. We cannot have a situation in which foreign jurisdictions become a safe haven for those who defy Northern Ireland’s judicial orders. Although I call on the Northern Ireland Executive and the Department of Justice to ensure that our central authority for Northern Ireland is fully resourced, the issue is UK-wide—it clearly falls on the shoulders of the Minister who is here today—and I believe that we must see UK-wide protection. Families in these crises do not have weeks or months to wait. Every day in which a child is separated from their habitual home is a day of trauma. We all love our children and grandchildren.”
“It is a common-sense change that we wholeheartedly support. Families have been torn apart. Without naming names, a mother’s son was taken on holiday by his dad. This lady from Northern Ireland was married to a man from Lebanon, and the young boy was able to go on holiday there. We all know that Lebanon has been a country in crisis for many years. It was almost impossible to find out where the father lived and where the child was, in a society that closes ranks. There is a mother back home in Northern Ireland whose heart is breaking. That is a difficult situation to deal with. The consulate was able to give some assistance, but it was a tragically difficult case. Legislation alone is not enough. We must ensure that the 1980 Hague convention is not just a piece of paper, but a working reality.”
“We welcome the progress of the Crime and Policing Bill, which is currently moving through this place. I thank the Minister for Policing and Crime for all the hard work and effort that went in to making that happen. I need not say any more about all the amendments from the House of Lords that came back. Last night, none came back, so that is now laid to bed. Although it is a crime to take a child out of the country without consent, there is a gap in our law. It has always been a clear criminal offence to retain a child abroad after a permitted holiday or visit. The Bill would correct that injustice and ensure that wrongful retention is treated with the same seriousness as abduction. The hon. Member for Tiverton and Minehead clearly illustrated that in her contribution setting the scene.”
“For anyone who has not seen it, it is definitely worth watching. I repeatedly watch it when it is on TV. It starts with a lady in New York whose daughter is missing after going on holiday with her dad, who had decided not to send her back. It is a film, of course, and not real life, but the character played by Denzel Washington was able to go on a train to convince the father to send his daughter back. Although the father had four burly bodyguards, Denzel Washington was able to dispatch all four of them with a sharp credit card. Sometimes we all wish we had a Denzel Washington in our corner—the man who can make things happen. Maybe I should not say this, but sometimes it is necessary to slip slightly aside of the rules to ensure a son or daughter can return home—and he did that.”
“Member for Hazel Grove (Lisa Smart), in their place. Over the years, there have been occasions, although not many, when I have been involved with families affected. I was a Member of the Legislative Assembly and am now in my 16th year as an MP. For the Democratic Unionist party, the protection of the family unit and the safety of our children have always been paramount and always will be. That is reinforced by seeing our own children growing up, and even more at the grandchildren stage: I am very much there now with six grandchildren. We believe in a society where the rule of law is respected and where those who seek to circumvent our courts, whether by crossing the Irish sea or an international border, are held to account. Everyone will know the film “The Equalizer”, with Denzel Washington.”
“It is always a pleasure to have you in the Chair, Dr Murrison. I thank the hon. Member for Tiverton and Minehead (Rachel Gilmour) for bringing this very difficult matter to the House. It is as heartbreaking as it is complex, and she illustrated that very well. The wrongful removal of a child from their home and family—international parental child abduction—is not always a mere legal dispute. It is a profound violation of a child’s security and a parent’s rights. I am pleased to see the Minister in his place. I wish him well: he always seems able to encapsulate our thoughts, whether we are here or in the Chamber. We will thank him for his answers today and look for some direction. It is always a pleasure to see the shadow Minister, the right hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills (Wendy Morton), and the Lib Dem spokesperson, the hon.”
“Just three weeks ago, there was a massive fire at Corries farm outside Newtownards. The response of fire service personnel was absolutely excellent, but the issue was access to water pressure, which there is always less of in rural communities. One solution is to have a water tanker in each district, but that means capital expenditure. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that a new look is needed at the response to fires in rural areas?”
“I should have made this point earlier; I do not think it has been mentioned. Back home in Northern Ireland, we have an issue with gorse fires in the mountains. We had two massive fires just last weekend. Does the hon. Gentleman share my concern that with the summer and what we hope will be hot weather comes the threat of gorse fires and the loss of peatland and farmland? Should that not be motivating the Minister and the Government to respond positively?”
“Members and the Government to initiate and support steps for our constituents’ safety. If we can address this issue at Government level, in a collective and collegiate way, we can address some of these concerns. Whether an accident is in the home, on the roads, in water or on the farm—wherever it might be—we need a national accident prevention strategy and we need it now.”
“The economic costs are exceptional, including another estimated £6 billion down to lost working days and output. If we can improve the accident rate, we can improve the economy and improve people’s health, so it is a win-win in every way. I join the right hon. Member in his call for a national accident prevention strategy. The Minister has been very active in Westminster Hall this last week—or 10 days, or even two weeks—and it is good to see her in her place again. We look forward to her answers to our requests. As the right hon. Member referred to, if we can model our national accident prevention strategy on those that have been implemented in Australia and Finland, we—including the Government and the Minister —can collectively tackle the crisis. I ask hon.”
“I know the Government have been proactive in responding to the Grenfell inquiry and have come up with a lot of good, positive ways forward. RoSPA has also worked with leading housing providers to produce safer by design, a framework to reduce serious accidental injury in new build homes. It sets out practical measures to reduce the shocking current rate of 6,000 accidental fatalities in UK homes each and every year. Accidents are not just an issue in the home. They affect people on the roads, at work and during leisure time. Accidents are now the leading cause of preventable deaths in people under 40, with 840,000 hospital admissions and 7 million A&E attendances being accident-related in 2022-23, costing the NHS £6 billion and 5.2 million bed days annually, as the right hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield referred to.”
“Back home, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs advertises regularly on TV about the dangers of the farm. Those dangers also include overhead lines: someone could be working with a Caterpillar or JCB and, all of a sudden, could hit an overhead line and be in a tragic accident. Working with animals is another example. We must always be wary of the cow that has a young calf or the bull that is in among the cows. Things can happen, so there is a real danger. I have been in contact with RoSPA, which welcomed recent steps by the Government to improve regulation and standards in the housing sector—which I want to speak to—particularly the commitment to implement the recommendations of the Grenfell inquiry in full.”
“To be truthful, we might not adhere to some of the health and safety aspects—I may not have adhered to them, either—so accidents on the farm are regular things, whether they are machinery accidents or to do with slurry. Over the past few years, I have heard of a number of people who have unfortunately succumbed to the fumes of the slurry tank. I remember my neighbour telling me last year, “Jim, I was out clearing the slurry tank and—it’s the funniest thing—I was there, and all of a sudden I was away.” It was the guy in a tractor about 10 feet away who pulled him away from it. We who live in the rural hinterland and the country are affected each day by farm issues—maybe just do not stand over slurry tanks. I look to the Minister to highlight those issues.”
“The number of accident fatalities in Northern Ireland is rising, with the region experiencing a rate of 39 deaths per 100,000, significantly higher than the UK average of 34 per 100,000. We in Northern Ireland are already on the back foot and behind on the targets, so we need to do better, hence I wanted to add my support and contribute to this debate. Almost 900,000 people, the equivalent of the entire population of Devon, are admitted to hospital as a result of accidents every year. People living in the most deprived areas are nearly twice as likely to be killed in an accident as those in the least deprived areas. I want to highlight the issue of accidents on the farm, such as falling off a roof. I live on a farm, and we tend to do the work ourselves. That is the nature of the life.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Murrison. I thank the right hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield (Sir Andrew Mitchell) for allowing us the opportunity to speak on the topic. I congratulate him on a truly excellent speech. I will give my perspective as the chair of the healthy homes and buildings all-party parliamentary group. This subject is of great interest to me: accidents in the home, on the roads, on the farm and on water—all those things together. As the right hon. Member highlighted, fatal accidents in the United Kingdom have risen at a rate of 8% in one year, and accidents now kill more than 23,000 people annually, which is more than the capacity of the London O2 arena. Of those people, nearly 800 die annually in accidental deaths in Northern Ireland. I am going to give a Northern Ireland perspective to this debate.”
“I thank the Leader of the Opposition for securing and introducing this motion. Does she agree that there is a very dangerous pattern emerging in the Government’s judgment after they bypassed vetting to appoint Lord Mandelson, a man with well-documented security concerns? Is she also concerned about the Government hand-picking an Attorney General whose hands are still warm from defending Gerry Adams against the victims of IRA terror? It is little wonder that the people of this nation, out there in the streets, are worried and concerned. Well done to the Leader of the Opposition for bringing this motion forward.”
“3. What recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing compensation to women born in the 1950s affected by changes to the state pension age.”
“I ask this question on behalf of the 6,000 WASPI women in Strangford. Given that the Department’s own 2007 evaluation raised serious doubts about the effectiveness of letters to pensioners, how can the Minister justify the decision that no direct financial loss occurred when thousands of women were deprived of the 28-month notice period required to adjust their life savings and retirement plans? In the light of the Scottish Parliament’s decision to again press this issue in February, will he please do the right thing, put actions before apologies, and deliver help and support? I say that respectfully, but I do want a good answer.”
“I thank the Secretary of State for his answers. Police numbers, intelligence, CCTV, IRA infiltration, people sending information—those are all issues. It is beyond disappointing that this same New IRA was able to plan to hijack and deploy a second device in west Belfast without any prior interception. The Chief Constable of the PSNI and the Police Federation for Northern Ireland have continually highlighted a lack of resources for policing. Will the Secretary of State please explain whether the lack of ability to combat this group of murderous, terrorist thugs is due to failures in intelligence sharing—MI5, MI6, special branch—or to a lack of police service on the ground that affects patrolling in high-risk areas? More importantly, what steps will the Secretary of State undertake to address those issues?”
“I thank the Minister for his statement— he is a decent and honourable man. In phone calls to my office only this morning, Strangford constituents have expressed their dismay about Government cover-ups. Even my constituents’ bank account comings and goings are questioned, and when they make withdrawals, they are asked where their money is from and what it is for. There is a perception out there that there is one rule for the Government of the day and another for everyone else. How can the Minister begin to show people that we are all accountable to scrutiny?”
“According to the Order Paper, “The Northern Ireland Assembly, the Scottish Parliament and Senedd Cymru have approved Legislative Consent Resolutions”. Some of my colleagues in the Assembly back home have expressed some of the concerns that the Lords have expressed. I am conscious of where we are going and where we will end up. Can the Minister please give me some indication of the content of the discussions that took place with the Northern Ireland Assembly? Members of the Legislative Assembly tell me they expressed concern. I am trying to understand how a consent motion could be conveyed and agreed.”
“I spoke to the Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland before the debate started to check in on what he was putting forward. There is some indication that protections will be put forward that Ministers hope will support the armed forces, but there are no similar protections whatsoever being offered to personnel of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and other branches of service in Northern Ireland. Some 319 RUC members gave their lives during the troubles, while thousands were injured; they deserve the same protection and help. Can the Secretary of State indicate what protections will be offered to the RUC personnel who gave so much for us, for their freedom and liberty?”