Contributions
836 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) BillMy hon. Friend is right in the example that he gives. I will reference another one later. Operation Kenova has been successfully led and was also regarded with some scepticism at…24 May 2022HANSARD Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) BillYes, I can give that assurance. As will be shown throughout the Bill’s passage, we are absolutely determined that it does not institutionalise the kind of problem that we are…24 May 2022HANSARD Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Billindicated assent .24 May 2022HANSARD Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) BillI am sure the hon. Gentleman will appreciate that I am not going to comment on particular cases, but I will say again that the so-called on-the-run letters have no basis in law…24 May 2022HANSARD Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) BillI shall take one more intervention and then make a fair bit of progress.24 May 2022HANSARD Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) BillI beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. The troubles represented a terrible period in Northern Ireland’s past and in these islands as a whole. They claimed the…24 May 2022HANSARD Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) BillI will just make a bit of progress and then take some more interventions. Drawing its core principles from the important work and principles of Stormont House, which the hon.…24 May 2022HANSARD Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) BillMy hon. Friend makes a very important point. One of the things that has been clear in talking to victims groups, and obviously one of the challenges of this issue is that…24 May 2022HANSARD Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) BillIt is not going to disappear. What we are looking to do is to have a full, independent, investigative, article 2-compliant process. I will touch on that in the next few minutes.24 May 2022HANSARD Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) BillYes. I will go further: as we will outline in guidance, people will not be able to benefit if they come forward at the last moment. They have to engage at the point when they are…24 May 2022HANSARD Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) BillThe hon. Gentleman gives a powerful and clear outline of the difficulty and pain that people feel, as he has just shown, in this very complex and sensitive area. He makes that…24 May 2022HANSARD Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) BillIf the hon. Gentleman will bear with me just a few minutes, I will answer that very question very specifically.24 May 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Abortion ServicesSection 9 of the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Act 2019 places me under a legal duty to ensure that women and girls in Northern Ireland can access abortion services. I am…19 May 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Assembly ElectionLast Thursday, the people of Northern Ireland went to the polls to choose their elected representatives. The results of that election were confirmed on Sunday 8 May 2022. I want…11 May 2022HANSARDThe Government’s Legislative Programme (Northern Ireland) 2022-23The legislative programme for the third Session was outlined at the state opening of Parliament on Tuesday 10 May. This statement provides a summary of the programme and its…11 May 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland ProtocolMy right hon. Friend correctly points out that there are now technical solutions. We have tried to talk to the EU about them, and we want the EU to show flexibility and recognise…27 Apr 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland ProtocolI suggest that the hon. Gentleman might want to have a closer look at what is happening in Northern Ireland, in the sense that there is a view across all parties that we need to…27 Apr 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland ProtocolI have got used to listening to those on the Opposition Front Bench defending the European Union against the people of the UK on a regular basis, but that was quite something. The…27 Apr 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland ProtocolMy hon. Friend makes a very important and accurate point. The protocol and its implementation are having a profound impact, and change is needed urgently to resolve the issues…27 Apr 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Legacy MattersI agree with the hon. Gentleman and I appreciate his support on a point that I have made consistently: the current system is failing everybody. That is why we need to bring…27 Apr 2022