Northern Ireland

Daniel Zeichner Excerpts

Tuesday 13th April 2021 Commons Chamber

[Brandon Lewis]

As I have outlined this afternoon and previously in the House, we have a clear focus on the work to move things forward on the protocol in a pragmatic and flexible way, so that it works and delivers for people in Northern Ireland, without hindrance or problem. The entire focus of the Chief Constable is on the safety and security of people in Northern Ireland, and I support him in that work.

[Daniel Zeichner (Cambridge) (Lab) [V]]

I am of the generation that remembers what discord in Ireland meant for people here on the mainland. I remember my mum being scared to go to work in London because of the bombs that were going off. Scared to go to work in London! What would the Secretary of State say today to those like my mum who would not understand how the Government have allowed the current situation to arise?

[Brandon Lewis]

As the hon. Gentleman will know, sadly and inexcusably we have seen pockets of violence across the UK over the last few months, in London, Bristol and elsewhere. None of that is acceptable, and we should see none of it. We should all be working, wherever we are in the UK, to support the local police and communities to bring an end to such things and return to calm and proper dialogue. I caution the hon. Gentleman against comparing what we saw the other week with what was seen some decades ago. Nobody should return to that, and the people of Northern Ireland deserve better. That is not what we saw last week, and it is not what anybody wants to return to in the future. We all have a job to ensure that the calmness that is there now remains, and that we work together with a proper, democratic dialogue.