Privileges

Alan Campbell Excerpts

Wednesday 29th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Leader of the House of Commons (Sir Alan Campbell)]

I beg to move,

That this House—

agrees with the Committee of Privileges in its First Report of Session 2024–26, Matter referred on 14 July 2025: Omagh Bombing Inquiry;

welcomes the acknowledgement in the Petition from the Secretary of the Inquiry that the Inquiry has taken advice on the application of Article 9 of the Bill of Rights to its proceedings and will be mindful of the privileges of the House;

notes the assurance given by the Inquiry that it will handle material provided to it by the House in accordance with its disclosure protocol;

and accordingly orders that the unpublished transcript of unreported evidence taken by the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee on 11 November 2009 be provided to the Omagh Bombing Inquiry and that the Inquiry shall have power to disclose or publish it if it thinks fit to do so, after taking relevant advice.

I welcome the consideration by the Committee of Privileges of this matter and its report. If approved, the motion will enable the unpublished transcript of unreported evidence, taken by the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee in November 2009, to be provided to the Omagh bombing inquiry, and enable the inquiry to publish that evidence if it thinks fit to do so, subject to relevant advice.

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Gower (Tonia Antoniazzi) and the hon. Member for North Dorset (Simon Hoare) for raising this issue in the House in July. I also thank the Chair of the Privileges Committee, the hon. Member for South Leicestershire (Alberto Costa), for his Committee’s swift work in considering the matter. I commend in particular his Committee’s sensitivity in handling this subject, as well as its commitment to facilitating the important work of the Omagh bombing inquiry.

In relation to parliamentary privilege, the report highlights important points on the matter of exclusive cognisance and the privileges of this House. Be in no doubt, Madam Deputy Speaker, that the Government support the rights of this House and will act to defend them. I hope that the House will support this motion today, and I commend it to the House.

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

I call the Chair of the Privileges Committee.

--- Later in debate ---

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I am grateful to all hon. Members for their contributions to this short debate. In particular, I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Gower (Tonia Antoniazzi), who is an excellent Chair of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, and the hon. Member for South Leicestershire (Alberto Costa), the Chair of the Committee of Privileges, who spoke with the typical sensitivity and thoughtfulness that we have come to expect from him. I also thank the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for welcoming the action that we are about to take. As ever, he brings personal reflection and experience to our debates, and I thank him for it.

I will of course draw Departments’ attention to the words of the Chair of the Committee of Privileges, and indeed those of the Chair of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee. As they both will have seen, my right hon. Friend the Northern Ireland Secretary is with us on the Front Bench and will have heard those words directly.

Question put and agreed to.