Dissident Activity (Upper Bann)

Debate between David Simpson and Ian Paisley

Tuesday 29th November 2016 Westminster Hall

[David Simpson (Upper Bann) (DUP)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered dissident activity in Upper Bann.

It is a privilege to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Howarth. It is disappointing that I must focus today on dissident republican activity in my constituency. That said, I must take this opportunity at the outset to remind Members that Northern Ireland has come such a long way from the pain and dreadful history that our Province holds. We have made remarkable progress. We are making headlines—largely on a positive note—and now receiving global recognition for the right reasons.

However, there remains an element within our community that cannot look to the future. There are some who cannot and will not build on our strong foundation, which is delivering, and delivering well, for the people of Northern Ireland. It is that element that forced the security threat level in Northern Ireland to severe. It is that element that saw our Prime Minister, the then Home Secretary, deliver the news that an attack on the UK by dissident republicans was a strong possibility. It is that element that is continually undermining the great work that our political leaders in Northern Ireland are striving to achieve.

A town in my constituency is regularly brought to the fore, with reports of dissident activity. It has one of the highest threat levels, and we all need to be on our guard and highly vigilant. In 2009, my constituent, a serving police officer, responded to a 999 call. Constable Stephen Carroll attended without hesitation, in an attempt to fulfil his commitment as a police officer and his pledge to protect the wider public, but that call turned out to be an elaborate trap set up by dissidents who lay in hiding and fatally wounded him. I vividly recall attending Craigavon that evening, as the reports came through that the first officer of the Police Service of Northern Ireland had been shot. It is a night that I will never forget. I must commend the PSNI for its skilful and thorough investigation and for bringing those responsible before the justice system. Two men are currently serving life sentences for that brutal murder, but it does not erase the pain for Constable Carroll’s family.

[Ian Paisley (North Antrim) (DUP)]

My hon. Friend gives a very sombre recognition of the slaughter of an innocent police officer in Northern Ireland. Does he agree that one thing required in his constituency and all our constituencies is more police officers on the ground? We are about 800 short from what Patten recommended. We need the police to urgently recruit new members and the Northern Ireland Office to stump up the money for it.

[David Simpson]

I agree. I had a meeting with the Police Federation for Northern Ireland yesterday about the shortfall in its members. Hopefully we will see the fruition of that, with extra members on the ground in the not-too-distant future.

HMRC Office Closures

Debate between David Simpson and Ian Paisley

Tuesday 24th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[David Simpson (Upper Bann) (DUP)]

rose—

[Ian Paisley (North Antrim) (DUP)]

rose—

Colin Worton

Debate between David Simpson and Ian Paisley

Wednesday 1st July 2015 Westminster Hall

[Ian Paisley]

My hon. Friend’s comments echo and amplify the indictment of a system that has blinded itself. Justice has to be fair, but when it blinds itself so much to an injustice that it cannot find a mechanism or way to clear and compensate a man properly, something is fundamentally wrong with the system.

[David Simpson (Upper Bann) (DUP)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on obtaining this debate. As he knows, many of us in this House have been trying to get a debate on the issue for quite some time, so we are glad it is happening. There is something fundamentally wrong, as our hon. Friend the Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) has said, when someone who has served his country has to fight to bring his case to this House to try to get justice, rather than getting it, as he should, through the normal system.

[Ian Paisley]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. I commend his actions. He has campaigned for years on this case and has tried to help Colin in the many different forums in which he has been a representative. He has also lobbied constantly and, more important, kept applying for a debate as well. It was really only the luck of the draw, so to speak, that my name came up. I am delighted that he has been so supportive of this case over the years.

As I said, Colin Worton never had his name cleared properly. I welcome the statement of the Northern Ireland Justice Minister, Minister Ford, of a couple of months ago that

“there is no stain on Colin Worton’s character”,

but unfortunately those words are not matched by actions. If there is no stain on the character of a soldier, why for the past 32 years has it been impossible for him to get back his job in the Ulster Defence Regiment? If there is no stain on his character and he can hold his head high, as he has been told by officialdom, why does he not have the simple right to have his job back, to serve his Province and his people?

I will tell the House why: because there is a stain, which has prevented him from going back to his job and from having a proper income-generating life. As a result, he has been forced to do menial jobs around the country, because people whisper behind their hands, “He’s the boy who was part of that murder team that killed an innocent man.” We need to nail that, and nail it loud and clear. We need to point out that if there is no stain on the character of Colin Worton then, given that he has not been able to have his job back for the past 32 years, he must now be properly compensated under existing mechanisms. I will come to those mechanism, because the Minister for Justice in Northern Ireland could use his powers in a discretionary way, and he should be encouraged by this House and this Government to do so. It is no way to treat a citizen of the United Kingdom and former soldier of Her Majesty’s forces. In essence, compensation should be paid to Colin Worton for his loss.

The effect of wrongful arrest and imprisonment—wrongful waste of life—on any person is devastating, and that situation is always wrong. But when a person sees three of his colleagues having their convictions overturned on appeal and being given substantial compensation—rightly so; those three were all also soldiers in Her Majesty’s forces, I should add—he must feel doubly indicted and abused. It seems he is not entitled to the same level of compensation or the same sense that not only has he got overturned something that was wrongly said about him, but the state that did that has been forced to pay for that injustice.

According to the available information, previous Secretaries of State and the Northern Ireland Justice Minister have indicated that, under section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, Mr Worton does not qualify for compensation. I believe that they are wrong in their interpretation of that section. I set that against the fact that we live in an era when the Northern Ireland Attorney General feels at liberty to recommend that there should be an amnesty system for terrorists to come forward to give evidence in historical cases without the risk of being prosecuted; it simply beggars belief that a man at the opposite end of the spectrum—a former soldier who has been told there is no stain on his character—is being punished for something he did not do in that same era. He is forced to live a life of little opportunity, with the stigma of a horrific murder latching itself to his hip despite his absolute innocence.

For Colin Worton to be told he falls outside the boundary of entitlement to compensation is wrong. The Northern Ireland Minister and the numerous Secretaries of State who come to Northern Ireland, should be encouraged to themselves encourage the devolution system to demonstrate the flexibility that it should have by addressing this particular injustice.

At Mr Worton’s initial trial, his so-called confession statement was deemed inadmissible as evidence because it had been extracted under extreme duress. Let me put that in the language of the street. Mr Worton had the crap kicked out of him until he said the right things. Once he had said them and had signed the right confession, he was going to be banged up in jail. That is what happened to three of his colleagues. Fifteen years later, those convictions were overturned and they were released. When Mr Worton’s case came to trial in 1986, the judge was so perplexed by what he saw that he immediately deemed that Mr Worton’s statement could not be used as evidence, and on that basis told Worton to leave the court room—he was a free man. That did nothing to compensate for the two and a half years he spent lingering in jail for the trial, and it did nothing to compensate him for the loss of his promising career in the services. It did nothing to compensate him for the now decades of financial loss and it certainly did not clear his name. When he left that courtroom, in the eyes of the general public, he got off. They thought, “He got off—he was lucky.”

That, unfortunately, has been the character of the case. There has been a very deliberate effort by many to continue to perpetuate the myth that these were lucky men. But no; these were innocent men, who were wrongly tried and wrongly convicted, and who eventually—thankfully—had their convictions overturned. There needs to be recognition of the serious nature of the case and of the fact that the overturning of the original trial of what became known as the UDR Four meant that convictions against soldiers in Northern Ireland for crimes halved. So few were ever convicted, and so few were ever involved in anything wrong, that this case was held up as an example of how soldiers had been involved in wrongdoing. When the case was thrown out, it halved the number of cases that could be pointed at to show that soldiers had done something wrong in Northern Ireland. That is why it is such an important example and such an important case, and why it has to be put right.

A false confession made under interrogation, of course, implies improper behaviour by the individuals who extracted it. There was therefore a “serious default”, or rather a lack of those words coming from the judge’s mouth. The judge should have recognised that that “serious default” was in place, and if he had recognised that and said so when he put Worton out of the trial, Worton would have been granted compensation. However, because of the lack of those two words, he did not get compensation under the scheme.

These are the words of the Justice Minister in Northern Ireland in a recent debate:

“The general principle behind any payment of compensation is to make reparation where the normal machinery of justice has demonstrably failed the accused person.”

In that debate in the Northern Ireland Assembly, 54 Assembly Members agreed that Worton should be compensated, whereas 27 Assembly Members did not. On that basis, there is a strong momentum to ensure that Mr Worton is properly compensated for this injustice. If he had been compensated in the 1980s when it happened, the matter would have gone away a long time ago.

It says something of the man himself that he has continued to campaign tirelessly, year in, year out, decade in, decade out, to clear his name, because he is so incensed by what has happened to him. His family are equally incensed, and rightly so. Mr Worton has, in my view, conducted this business well and in a dignified manner. He has never stopped in his mission to have his name properly cleared and to have compensation. This is a man whose brother was murdered by the Provisional IRA, and who served in the Ulster Defence Regiment to help protect the Province and its people he so dearly loved. This is a man who had every reason to hate the Irish Republican Army for what they did, yet he worked on behalf of this Government’s security forces to help bring peace to Northern Ireland.

Mr Worton’s father died having had one son murdered by terrorists and another one labelled a murdering terrorist. That injustice to his entire family must be properly addressed. That is why I am pleased that this matter has got the Floor of this House and pleased that it is recognised nationally that there is an issue which the devolved Administration in Northern Ireland must address expeditiously. It has been long enough in the making. They have time now in which they could address this case.

Corporation Tax (Northern Ireland) Bill

Debate between David Simpson and Ian Paisley

Tuesday 27th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[David Simpson (Upper Bann) (DUP)]

I thank the Government for keeping their part of the bargain in trying to push the Bill through the House before Dissolution.

I again pay tribute to the right hon. Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), as I did in an intervention. He was very modest in what he said about his role. I understand that it was a team effort within the Government, but I must say that he was outstanding in the number of meetings he held with business organisations in my constituency, such as the manufacturing focus group and the chamber of commerce. He put across the case for devolving corporation tax very well, and all credit to him for his enthusiasm. He was also very enthusiastic about enterprise zones, as has been mentioned, and other parts of the different regions of the United Kingdom are starting to raise that whole issue.

The Chairman of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee pointed out that we debated this matter and produced a report some time ago, and I remember what one of the economists said. People say that if someone brings 20 economists into one room and tries to get them to agree, they will find it very hard. My hon. Friend the Member for East Antrim (Sammy Wilson), who is an economist, is not in the Chamber, or I would certainly get a very smart response from him.

I asked one economist at what point between one and 10—given a clean sheet—he would put corporation tax, and he was quick to say that he would put it somewhere in the middle. We all agree that the measure is a great move for the future of Northern Ireland, but it is not a panacea or silver bullet, and we need to bring together a lot of things to make it work. The economist reckoned that other factors need to be looked at, including fast-track planning, which has been discussed, the whole planning structure, research and development, and education, which was also raised earlier. It has just been announced that we will get two new regional colleges—one in the town of Banbridge, and one in the Craigavon area—which will benefit my whole constituency. The colleges recently made a presentation about the number of courses and higher level apprenticeships that will be provided. As the hon. Member for Belfast East (Naomi Long) said, skills are vital for any organisation that comes to Northern Ireland, so there needs to be a skills base. A lot of elements therefore need to be brought together for the whole package to work.

Everyone in this debate has broadly welcomed the Bill, but it has been sensible of many of those who have spoken to put in caveats and not to make promises that we might not be able to keep in five or 10 years. The point was made that when companies decide to invest in other regions or sit down to write business plans, they do not plan for just six or 12 months, but for three, four or five years. We do not want to make rash promises, only for companies that plan to come into Northern Ireland to find, all of a sudden, that it does not work. Today we have the coalition Government, but things could change on 7 May. We might have another Government. Will they have the same principles and ideologies as this Government? It is therefore important that we do not make rash promises.

My constituency of Upper Bann is the second largest manufacturing base in the Province outside Belfast, with companies such as Moy Park, Almac and Thompson Aero Seating. It has a lot of good companies, such as bakeries and agri-food businesses. Many of those companies would benefit from the lowering of corporation tax. I declare an interest in the agri-food sector and refer to the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, because my family business would also benefit. The benefit will be felt across the constituency. At the worst economic times, unemployment in Upper Bann rose to 8.5% or 8.6%. As of last week, it was down to 5.2%. Even at the best of times, it never fell below 4% or 4.5%, so we are heading back to where we were in the good old days.

We need to encourage our young people to stay in the United Kingdom. The hon. Member for Foyle (Mark Durkan) made the point that every year we lose a campus to other countries. I still help young people on a regular basis to fill in forms and visas to go to Australia, New Zealand or China. We need to encourage young people to stay and protection needs to be put in place. We have heard about issues such as brass-plating. That needs to be definitive and there are a lot of issues that need to be teased out. That can be done as we go through the Bill over the next few weeks.

I broadly welcome the Bill. It will bring great benefits to Northern Ireland. It is important that every part of the United Kingdom and every country looks to its advantages over other countries. We have to look for the competitive edge. If this brings the competitive edge for Northern Ireland, that is good news, because we have sat alongside the Republic of Ireland, with its 12.5% rate, for many years. As was said earlier, throughout all the difficult economic times, with the Celtic tiger losing its buzz and all the rest of it, it still held on to the corporation tax rate. Even when the European Union threatened to take it away, the Republic of Ireland stood its ground and won the day. We need to continue with this proposal. I think there are good days ahead for Northern Ireland.

[Ian Paisley]

We were promised an economic bonanza after 1998. Whatever people’s interpretation of the Belfast agreement, there was no economic follow-through. It was like the ghost of Banquo—it was there, but it did not turn up. The ghost of economic benefit did not end up being delivered. This is the opportunity to deliver the economic benefit for Northern Ireland that has been absent for the past 15 years.

[David Simpson]

My hon. Friend is correct. This is an opportunity for Northern Ireland to deliver that economic benefit. We need to encourage not only businesses throughout the Province, but the next generation. I do not know about other MPs, but when I go to universities and schools in my area, people say, “What’s the point of staying in Northern Ireland? There’s nothing here for us. There’s no jobs; there’s no nothing.” We have to give them a reason to stay.

It is the role of Governments to create the environment and circumstances in which business can thrive and move forward. My hon. Friend is right that there is an opportunity to do that, and we need to grasp it, but we must do so in a balanced and measured way. We must not make false promises that may come back to bite us in the coming years.

High Court Judgment (John Downey)

Debate between David Simpson and Ian Paisley

Thursday 27th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[David Simpson]

The hon. Lady is absolutely right.

No unionist would be surprised by the role the Northern Ireland Office at the time had in the design and implementation of the scheme. At the time, its pandering to republicanism and its contempt for Unionism and its representatives were a permanent feature of direct rule. However, it drew the Police Service of Northern Ireland into its dirty deals as well. In a question to the assistant chief constable—I believe it was Assistant Chief Constable Harris—my colleague on the Policing Board, Mr Thomas Buchanan, asked about the OTRs. The PSNI’s response was this:

“At this moment in time, there are no on the runs we are aware of residing in Northern Ireland, and if there was information to suggest there were individuals who are wanted for crime living within this jurisdiction, then we would be very anxious to learn of that.”

That was in 2010. That gave the impression that there was a desire to catch criminals, but the scheme was doing exactly the opposite.

[Ian Paisley (North Antrim) (DUP)]

My hon. Friend knows that the former deputy chair of the Policing Board, Mr Bradley, has publicly stated that the board was briefed about the on-the-runs and knew all about it. Will my hon. Friend go further today and dismiss that as a fantasy?

[David Simpson]

Yes, I certainly will. It was an absolute fantasy, as the evidence that has come from Policing Board representatives over the past few weeks confirms.

At the same time the OTR scheme was running, the PSNI established the Historical Enquiries Team. It was supposed to be a systematic approach to give every victim the opportunity for justice. The OTR scheme now draws a long shadow over all the HET’s work. Some will conclude that as one section of the PSNI tried to put people before a court, another was helping them to avoid it.

I will not speak for long, because I know that many other Members wish to speak.

Cost of Living

Debate between David Simpson and Ian Paisley

Tuesday 14th May 2013 Commons Chamber

[Ian Paisley (North Antrim) (DUP)]

I want to speak about the three Fs—fags, farmers and fairness. From time to time, fruitcakes may also creep into this speech; perhaps some will want to intervene, although I hope they will not.

I turn first to fairness and the cost of living. Today is the start of carers week, so it is an appropriate time for us to think about fairness for the most important people in our society—people who give back, who care for others and who are in need. It is important that we make sure that the measures that will be presented to the House during this term of Parliament do most to deliver for those most in need, particularly carers or those in receipt of benefit.

There are 214,000 carers in Ulster, and they desperately need assistance. I look forward to the measures that will be introduced to assist them.

[David Simpson (Upper Bann) (DUP)]

Child poverty has been mentioned in this debate. We all understand that finances are very tight, but does my hon. Friend agree that it is vital that the cuts that the Government have imposed do not penalise children? The Children’s Society estimates that 200,000 more children could go into poverty, and that should not be allowed to happen.

[Ian Paisley]

My hon. Friend hits the nail on the head.

The people who most require fairness are the most vulnerable in our society, such as families in the low-income bracket. One of the ways we can help to address that is through the cost of fuel. Sixty per cent. of fuel costs are duty or VAT. The Government could do something to deal with that, and I look forward to them taking measures to do so over the course of the year. I welcome the increase in the personal allowance for income tax, because that is focused on the low paid.

Job creation is really where the Government’s attention should be directed. Over the past few days, many people have expressed concern about things not being in the Gracious Address, and one such thing is a change to corporation tax levels in Northern Ireland. I am disappointed about that, because such a change would have allowed us to create additional employment and stimulate the economy in the way it needs to be stimulated.

However, I pay tribute to the Government for listening to us on some of the welfare reform issues. They have allowed Northern Ireland to develop its own flexibilities, such as direct payment to landlords, twice-monthly payments to claimants, and the splitting of the single household universal credit payment between two people. That is very welcome because it helps families in Northern Ireland, especially those on low incomes, to manage their money better.

Child Slavery

Debate between David Simpson and Ian Paisley

Wednesday 2nd March 2011 Westminster Hall

[David Simpson]

I agree with my hon. Friend. He has hit the nail right on the head; we need convictions. People involved in this—we may not be able to do this within the law—should be locked up and the key thrown away. I am sure that all Members will agree that forced marriages and slavery are horrific crimes.

The Times also quoted a police officer who called for this crime to be made an aggravated offence, which would hand the courts power to pass enhanced sentences. I have already mentioned the comments made by Baroness Warsi in relation to the whole matter of forced marriage and the new laws introduced by the previous Labour Government. At that time, she also made a commitment that the Conservative party would make forced marriage illegal. Given the current situation, I would suggest that the time has come to change forced marriage from a civil offence to a criminal offence.

When he was in opposition, the Prime Minister promised that that was a step that he would take. Baroness Warsi also made that commitment on behalf of what is now the senior partner in the coalition Government. I encourage the coalition Government to go that extra mile now and stop this form of child slavery. The trafficking of children for sexual exploitation is shameful. It is estimated that about 100,000 to 500,000 people are trafficked into Europe on an annual basis.

[Ian Paisley (North Antrim) (DUP)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate. I also remind him that I have to attend a Committee this afternoon, so if I slip away shortly it is not because I am not interested in this debate.

When my hon. Friend looks around the devolved jurisdictions that now exist in the United Kingdom, does he think that they are doing anything on top of what our national Government are doing to address the slave trade? The slave trade is not a 21st century phenomenon. It has existed for many centuries, and sometimes expertise and other help is needed to address it.

[David Simpson]

I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention, and he is right. During the debate that we had some time ago in the House on slavery, the issue of the devolved jurisdictions was raised. I think that slavery has been discussed in the regional Parliaments and I know that the Northern Ireland Assembly unanimously agreed that something should be done about people trafficking. However, although we say that something should be done about it, we need to see tangible evidence that something is being done. Words are fine—they are nice on paper—but we need to see evidence that something is being done for these children.

Fuel Prices

Debate between David Simpson and Ian Paisley

Tuesday 15th February 2011 Westminster Hall

[Ian Paisley]

The hon. Lady has rightly indicated that there are four options. As a member of an Opposition party, I am prepared to leave it to the Government and say that it is up to them to come up with a solution. Let us hope that we can get something with cross-party and cross-House support, and that we can drive it forward so that it makes a difference for the people who send us here. I think that we can all agree on that.

[David Simpson]

While we are having a go at the coalition, I might as well join in. Does my hon. Friend agree that the coalition needs to realise that, where Northern Ireland is concerned, millions upon millions of pounds of revenue are being lost to the British Exchequer every single year the longer this goes on?

[Ian Paisley]

Yes, that is an excellent point, and I want to comment on the issue of smuggling later. I emphasise the points made by other hon. Members that the Budget gives this Government the opportunity—I hope that they will take it and listen to the concerns—to come up with a solution that we can get behind and support.

[Gavin Williamson (South Staffordshire) (Con)]

The hon. Gentleman speaks eloquently about the importance of dealing with the issue. If the Government are able to deal with it, will the Democratic Unionist party and others march through the Government Lobbies in support of the Budget?

[David Simpson]

We are well used to marching.

[Ian Paisley]

At home, if I march, I need to fill in an 11-bar-one form. The hon. Member for South Staffordshire (Gavin Williamson) may not be familiar with that form, but here I have the luxury of parading anywhere I want. If I support the Government’s proposal, I will happily lead the charge through the Lobbies and he will follow in my wake.

On average, petrol at home is about £1.30 or £1.35 per litre, depending on where it is bought. Of that maximum £1.35, 80p is a combination of taxes. People have talked about holding back the 1p increase in April, which will make a difference of about 2p or 3p at the pump, but we need something that will make about 25p difference at the pump if we are going to get not only the rural community, but hauliers and local industry moving again, and people with get up and go to recognise that the economy is starting to breathe and move again. The Government have a serious duty to address that.

My hon. Friend the Member for Upper Bann (David Simpson) has touched on the issue of smuggling. High prices encourage smuggling, and on my island it is incredibly easy to smuggle, because we have a land border with another nation state which has a different fuel price. If ever there was an open invitation or open goal to the smuggler, that is it. The Minister will know that in Northern Ireland alone—these figures are staggering—£200 million is lost each year to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs because of smuggling. In the Republic of Ireland, a further €140 million is lost to their Exchequer because of fuel smuggling. On top of that, environmental waste and damage are caused as a result of removing the various tracers and markers from fuels. That causes untold environmental pollution and harm.

If we have a fuel stabiliser, or the fuel price differential is altered and brought in to recognise those differences, the opportunity to smuggle and to cause crime and waste will no longer exist. We are only encouraging crime if we do not address the matter. That is another solid reason why the Government must get behind dealing with the issue of having fair fuel prices. They could, of course, do so through a taxation cut.