Contributions
1,244 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Northern Ireland Troubles: Legacy and ReconciliationIt is an honour and a privilege to speak in this important debate. It is particularly important because there are some people watching this afternoon who themselves were on the…21 Jan 2026HANSARD Northern Ireland Troubles: Legacy and ReconciliationIf my right hon. Friend will allow me, I will respond to the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) briefly and then allow my right hon. Friend to supplement my answer. The hon.…21 Jan 2026HANSARD Northern Ireland Troubles: Legacy and ReconciliationAgain, I agree with my right hon. Friend. In some quarters, there is an industry that I fear is allowing victims to believe that their chances of success are far greater than they…21 Jan 2026HANSARD Northern Ireland Troubles: Legacy and ReconciliationMy right hon. Friend has very succinctly summarised the central argument behind the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023: drawing a line does not mean…21 Jan 2026HANSARD Northern Ireland Troubles: Legacy and ReconciliationNo, I do not acknowledge that. I have met victims, and people whose families were heavily affected by terrorism, who supported our legislation.21 Jan 2026HANSARD Northern Ireland Troubles: Legacy and ReconciliationI entirely agree with my hon. Friend, who has great experience of these matters. The truth is that, for some people, this is the continuation of the troubles by other means. It is…21 Jan 2026HANSARD Northern Ireland Troubles: Legacy and ReconciliationOnce again, my hon. Friend is quite right, because if the remedial order goes through both Houses and the Supreme Court has not opined, from the next day civil cases will reopen…21 Jan 2026HANSARD Northern Ireland Troubles: Legacy and ReconciliationI believe that we almost got a scintilla of insight into how my right hon. Friend feels about the latest Joint Committee on Human Rights report. I am grateful to him for…21 Jan 2026HANSARD Northern Ireland Troubles: Legacy and ReconciliationThat is exactly one of the reasons why the next Conservative Government will leave the European convention on human rights.21 Jan 2026HANSARD Northern Ireland Troubles: Legacy and ReconciliationMy right hon. Friend has always had a very good head for what is popular. I will check his figures, but I am sure they are correct, and he has made an important point. We cannot…21 Jan 2026HANSARD Northern Ireland Troubles: Legacy and ReconciliationI am not doubting that the Committee examined all the evidence available to it; I am disputing what evidence it had available to it. We are faced with a situation in which the…21 Jan 2026HANSARD Northern Ireland Troubles: Legacy and ReconciliationI meant to say, “the joint first best part of the New Forest”. The Secretary of State has invoked the Joint Committee on Human Rights, but it is my understanding that when it…21 Jan 2026HANSARD Northern Ireland Troubles: Legacy and ReconciliationYes, my right hon. and very learned Friend. The truth is that, if one looks back at the debates on the Human Rights Act, one can see that the purpose of section 10 is to make sure…21 Jan 2026HANSARD Northern Ireland Troubles: Legacy and ReconciliationMy right hon. Friend could not be more correct. It has always been one-way traffic, and whenever the Conservative party has tried to create equivalence for veterans, the Labour…21 Jan 2026HANSARD Northern Ireland Troubles: Legacy and ReconciliationI am delighted to have the support, on a matter of pure legal substance, of my right hon. Friend—21 Jan 2026HANSARD Northern Ireland Troubles: Legacy and ReconciliationI am happy to give way to the Chair of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee.21 Jan 2026HANSARD Northern Ireland Political Institutions: ReformIt is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Vaz. Hon. Members will be delighted to hear that I do not intend to speak for very long, but I congratulate the hon. Member…13 Jan 2026HANSARD Northern Ireland Political Institutions: ReformIt is dangerous that the hon. Lady encourages me to hurry through my speech to get to the point that she has raised but, given that my speech is highly flexible, I will try.13 Jan 2026HANSARD Northern Ireland Political Institutions: ReformFive minutes flexible. We very much hope that, as the institutions in Northern Ireland mature—they are coming up to 28 years old—we will have greater opportunity for a system in…13 Jan 2026HANSARDNorthern Ireland Troubles BillI note that the Secretary of State was unable to give a single example. There is, I am afraid, an ostrich-like complacency in the Government’s approach to this legislation. Senior…07 Jan 2026