David Black

Chris Ruane Excerpts

Friday 2nd November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Villiers]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The people involved in these kinds of activities enjoy very, very little support in the community. I believe that the vast majority of people in Northern Ireland, the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland utterly condemn their activities. The murder of David Black is viewed as an atrocity by the vast majority of people in Northern Ireland.

[Chris Ruane (Vale of Clwyd) (Lab)]

Mrs Black has shown tremendous courage in asking—on the day after her husband was assassinated—that there be no retaliation. Recent attacks have led to the exact opposite—to a coming together of the community in Northern Ireland in the face of terrorism. What measures can the Secretary of State take to encourage public unity and public condemnation of these terrorist attacks?

[Mrs Villiers]

I have been speaking out strongly on the importance of such condemnation. I have spoken on the telephone to a long list of political and religious leaders in Northern Ireland, and have also spoken to the US ambassador. It is helpful, given the positive role that the US Government played in the peace process, to have their voice heard in condemning this atrocity. The ambassador gave me the clear assurance that that was the case. I know also that Secretary of State Clinton retains a close and strong interest in Northern Ireland, and I am sure that she shares the concern expressed in the House today. I am sure that we all welcome the fact that arrests have already been made and that the PSNI is determined to bring the people responsible for this crime to justice.