Parachute Regiment: Arrest

Gregory Campbell Excerpts

Wednesday 18th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Wallace]

We must all challenge the perception that they are hounded. As I have said, 250,000 people served during those 25 years. No one is hounding them. The police must be allowed to follow a course of inquiry in order to help either to clear names or to achieve justice where there has been a breach of the law. That is very important. We have to distinguish: we are the people who follow the rule of law and it is the terrorist who does not. In answer to my hon. Friend’s second question, as I told my right hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), the former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, I shall write to him about that detail.

[Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry) (DUP)]

Five years ago, the Prime Minister stood at the Dispatch Box and tried to bring closure to the £200 million Saville report, and people across the House and in many sections of society expressed the view that the matter was at an end. I predicted in this place at that time that that would not be the end of the matter and, unfortunately, so it has proved. Does the Minister accept that he needs to meet the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland to ensure that, irrespective of whether people were in or out of uniform, if they had machine guns or probably had sub-machine-guns, like Martin McGuinness, they should be subject to the law and questioned equally, in order to be brought before the courts?

[Mr Wallace]

The Chief Constable is absolutely adamant that, in all criminal inquiries, he will treat people the same. He will investigate and he will follow the course of action. It was not that long ago that we were hearing cries about Sinn Féin politicians being arrested and taken in for questioning. I have confidence that the Chief Constable, who is respected by Members on both sides of the House, will follow his professional training, pursue people based on evidence and treat them fairly in that process. I cannot get involved in investigations. I cannot go to see the Chief Constable to interfere. If I did and the result was the same and there was no evidence in a particular case, it would never be allowed to be gotten away with. People would accuse me of having interfered in a case and someone would be prevented from clearing their name.

Stormont

Gregory Campbell Excerpts

Monday 12th October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Danny Kinahan]

I thank the hon. Lady for that interjection, and we will wait to see what happens in the next elections before we decide whether we, and others, go back in. Yes, it was our party that precipitated things, but we only moved into opposition. The actions of others may have precipitated things further.

I know that all hon. Members will support the aims I have mentioned, and all will have done so in their constituencies throughout the United Kingdom. I wish to emphasise that we cannot simply devolve and forget, and all four countries will always benefit from working together in the Union. At Home Office questions today we saw a perfect example of that when I mentioned the lack of visible policing on the ground which allows paramilitaries to fill the void. The Minister just said, “Talk to Minister Ford.” That is not satisfactory.

We owe so many people so much for all they have done for Northern Ireland—the politicians, the armed services and people from many other walks of life—and we in Northern Ireland are for ever grateful. We all want to see better, and we all believe in better. In 1998, almost three quarters of a million citizens—more than 71% of those in Northern Ireland—supported the Belfast agreement. That was a ringing endorsement for putting the past behind us and looking with hope to a brighter future. They supported the vision that Northern Ireland could be a country of equals where religion, culture and heritage would not define opportunity or aspiration. I remember the excitement and genuine belief that this was a change that would offer future generations not only a better life but the chance to be themselves with no fear of intimidation or violence.

I came home in 1984, after serving my time in the Army. I remember the dark days when Belfast was somewhere many avoided, where armed soldiers and police patrolled the streets, where shopping bags were searched at checkpoints, and where the temptation to eat out or go to the cinema really did not exist. In 1998, the Belfast agreement lifted the lid. Enjoyment, excitement and the genie of a thriving economic future were released. The sheer buzz that I think the majority felt in Northern Ireland was quite wonderful: we had a hope of a better future and it was in our hands. It was not a perfect solution, but nevertheless a hope we have so nearly squandered. It was meant to create a system that would adapt and change over time, and become a form of government that lived up to the principles of that 1998 agreement. Instead, the very system put in place and supported by individuals during the referendum on both sides of the border has been changed, without the opportunity for those same individuals to voice concern or disagreement, into this dysfunctional quagmire.

[Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry) (DUP)]

The hon. Gentleman alludes to the dysfunctionality of the system of government we have, and he quoted others who have said likewise. Does he accept and agree that his party and other parties were the architects of the structures that he now describes as dysfunctional?

[Danny Kinahan]

I thought that might be the question. We certainly were the architects, with others, who took great risks. I have already said it was an imperfect system. What came later was much more imperfect, but I do not want to change this into a petty debate.

Changes, such as the election of the First and Deputy First Ministers, have removed ownership of the process from the Assembly and forced every future election to be a purely sectarian headcount. Northern Ireland is now locked into mechanisms that actively stop any improvement happening. Today, we need the support and leadership of this House to help us to move forward. We have an election process for the First Minister that means we have, in reality, a co-equal First Minister and Deputy First Minister, neither of whom can do anything unless the other agrees it. It is an admirable idea, but one doomed to failure as so often neither First Minister—that is what they both are—can agree with each other. It is almost an endless game of brinkmanship, a game of chicken that sees Northern Ireland’s people suffer each time there is a disastrous crash because neither First Minister will give an inch. We have an Executive of all parties, with the intention that those parties will work together and decide together. Again, that is an admirable idea, but not when the two main parties squeeze and ignore the other parties at every turn, forcing matters through and then claiming that they were agreed under the excuse of collective responsibility. All this must change.

Part of the structure of the Good Friday agreement was the creation of a petition of concern. This was a legislative tool to safeguard the rights of minority groups by offering either the nationalist or Unionist community the ability to veto legislation that would infringe their rights. This tool, designed with the right intentions, has been misused in the most underhand of ways. Since the last Assembly election in 2011, it has been used no fewer than 34 times to block issues including: better recycling, allowing the National Crime Agency to work in Northern Ireland, the provision of services and support for military veterans, to prevent Ministers even being held to account, and, of course, to stop same-sex marriage. It is obvious that the petition of concern no longer protects minority groups, but in many instances has actively been used to undermine them. The intention was never to use this as a vehicle to reinforce such politics, but that is exactly what it does.

--- Later in debate ---

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is 10 years since the IRA was supposed to decommission its weapons, 10 years since the IRA was to disband its military operations, and 10 years since a party now at the heart of the Northern Ireland Executive began its transition to a party that was, at least so it said, committed to exclusively peaceful means. Ten years on, we have murder on the streets of Northern Ireland and it is that supposedly decommissioned, supposedly disbanded terror group that is once again making the headlines and putting Northern Ireland in the news for the wrong reasons.

We are holding this debate because armed terrorists carried out executions on the streets of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. If this were any other part of the United Kingdom there would be a national outcry. Just how many lies have been told? How many more lies are we expected to believe? We were told the IRA had gone away and had left the stage. It was described as withering away by none other than the Independent Monitoring Commission. Do we believe Bobby Storey when he says that the IRA has disappeared into the air like a butterfly? Cassius Clay said that he floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee. When the IRA stings, people die. That is the difference. Do we believe Bobby Storey or do we believe the IMC? Do we believe the assessment of the IRA by the Chief Constable of the PSNI or do we believe that political colossus, Gerry “I was never in the IRA” Adams? Who do we believe?

Is it any wonder that Stormont is in crisis when the largest nationalist party cannot tell its partners in government the truth about its supposedly former terror wing? We cannot expect simply to brush all this under the carpet. After all the hurt, pain, suffering and death that the IRA caused, it is beyond an outrage that Sinn Féin cannot understand the angst not just in the Unionist community, but throughout the Province. Up and down Northern Ireland, normal hard-working families are worried—worried for the future, worried that terror is back on the streets, worried that they cannot trust those at the heart of our Executive and worried that it will affect them.

[Mr Gregory Campbell]

Does my hon. Friend agree that last week we saw an opportunity for the police to recruit from all communities across Northern Ireland, but that in some cases terror was manifested and threats were made? This weekend, there is one of the delayed recruitment procedures in the north-west of Northern Ireland, which offers an opportunity to politicians, trade unionists and the wider communities to stand united in opposing terror and ensuring that everybody across the community can join up with the police to ensure that terrorism never wins.

[Jim Shannon]

I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. He covered my next point. Over a weekend when the PSNI tried to recruit across the whole of Northern Ireland, there were threats and bomb hoaxes. That may be the future that some republicans want to see, but we do not want it.

If Sinn Féin is willing to hide from the truth on this issue—an issue so close to home for many people across our United Kingdom—one must ask what else it is hiding. If Northern Ireland is truly to enjoy a new era and a true process of reconciliation, it is time for republicans to step up to the plate and start taking their responsibilities seriously.

The hon. Member for South Antrim (Danny Kinahan) referred to the elephant in the room. It very clearly is in the room.

Northern Ireland deserves better than this. After all that we have been through, I implore the House to support those who are rooting out the scourge of terrorism within our society so that Northern Ireland can enjoy the true peace and stability it so deserves.

Oral Answers to Questions

Gregory Campbell Excerpts

Wednesday 24th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Villiers]

I think it does have a negative impact on the reputation of Northern Ireland. Of course it is crucial that we are all promoting Northern Ireland around the world as a great place in which to invest, and part of that is about ensuring we can deliver political stability. That is yet another reason why the Stormont House agreement needs to go ahead.

[Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry) (DUP)]

Does the Secretary of State agree that the current political impasse as a result of two parties failing to implement the Stormont House agreement is costing us about 50,000 private sector jobs, as corporation tax reductions and investment in the likes of the Ballykelly camp in my constituency are being held up?

[Mrs Villiers]

There are the direct consequences that we have talked about before in terms of public finances and the effectiveness of the Executive, but the huge jobs boost that could come with corporation tax devolution is not going to be delivered unless a sustainable budget is settled and welfare reform is implemented.

Oral Answers to Questions

Gregory Campbell Excerpts

Wednesday 28th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Villiers]

The SHA sets out a clear pathway for reaching a resolution of those issues with the commission on flags, which was first proposed by Dr Richard Haass. It is right that we have a broader engagement with the public on the matters relating to identity. The SHA commits the Executive to producing options for a new system of parading that could be devolved, we hope, in future.

[Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry) (DUP)]

Does the Secretary of State agree that the Stormont House agreement, with the boost to the economy that should come as a result of the corporation tax decision, the reduction in the size of Government, and the provisions on no rewriting of the past and no expansion of cross-border bodies, means that we now have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make significant progress in Northern Ireland?

[Mrs Villiers]

I wholeheartedly agree with the hon. Gentleman’s description of the Stormont House agreement. It was balanced and fair, it comes with a significant financial boost for Northern Ireland, and it guards against the dangers of those who would attempt to rewrite history. Corporation tax devolution could be genuinely transformative for Northern Ireland as a place sharing a land border with a low-tax jurisdiction.

On-the-Runs Scheme

Gregory Campbell Excerpts

Tuesday 27th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Villiers]

I have taken into account a number of factors in deciding how to respond to the Hallett report, and they of course include legal advice on the best way to guard against further trial collapses as a result of abuse of process. My right hon. Friend has referred in clear terms to his view of the scheme. As I said, I think there is agreement that it was deeply unfortunate that the scheme was not handled in a more transparent way. That is something for which I have apologised, but I emphasise once again to the House that it was never an amnesty and it was never a scheme to let people wanted for arrest get off without arrest or prosecution; it was, from the start, intended to be a scheme that merely indicated to those who were not wanted by the police that that was the factual position at the time in question.

[Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry) (DUP)]

The Secretary of State has repeatedly said that individuals should not rely on the OTR letters as the police carry out their duties. Does she agree that the law-abiding community in Northern Ireland would see much greater strength in that reassurance whenever they saw people with an OTR letter in their possession standing in the dock and the judge carrying out his duty, despite their having possession of a letter?

[Mrs Villiers]

It is, of course, important for all crime to be properly investigated in Northern Ireland and for those guilty of offences to be brought to justice, regardless of whether or not they have an OTR letter.

Corporation Tax (Northern Ireland) Bill

Gregory Campbell Excerpts

Tuesday 27th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Villiers]

I know that the Northern Ireland Executive are committed to doing all they can to ensure that the effects of boosting the private sector and enhancing prosperity are felt throughout Northern Ireland. All Administrations grapple with the difficult problem of how to ensure that economic prosperity is appropriately spread. I believe that corporation tax devolution—coupled with a focus on other areas of economic reform such as skills, planning reform and investment in infrastructure—is a crucial way to enhance the private sector and boost prosperity throughout Northern Ireland. I am sure that the hon. Lady will be aware of some of the many difficulties that have been experienced in border areas over the years. People living in border areas stand to benefit as much as everyone else in Northern Ireland from a potentially significant and welcome impact in achieving the rebalancing of the Northern Ireland economy that we all want to see.

Members of the business community have told me on very many occasions that they are convinced that this is the right measure for Northern Ireland. They believe that it will boost the indigenous private sector, both large and small, as well as attract foreign direct investment, and will provide an effective means of rebalancing an economy which for decades has been over-dependent on the public sector. They have therefore strongly welcomed the Government’s introduction of this Bill. I am very grateful for the support for this measure shown within the Northern Ireland business community.

The Government will use our very best endeavours to get the Bill on to the statute book before the Dissolution of Parliament. This legislation has strong support in Northern Ireland. Moreover, the whole of the UK will benefit if corporation tax devolution can help to drive economic growth and rebalancing, and help to deliver a prosperous and stable Northern Ireland.

[Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry) (DUP)]

The Secretary of State alludes to the need to get the legislation on to the statute book, and I hope that progress is now being made towards that. Does she agree that beyond that stage, the next Government, and the next Prime Minister and Secretary of State, will have a central role in helping the Northern Ireland Executive in terms of overseas trips and inward investment to ensure that maximum advantage is taken of the opportunity to get the most benefit out of corporation tax reduction?

[Mrs Villiers]

I agree that if the benefits of a reduced corporation tax rate for Northern Ireland are to be realised, that needs to be accompanied by a determined effort to sell the benefits of Northern Ireland to the world. I am absolutely 100% certain that if my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) is Prime Minister in the next Parliament, that is exactly what the UK Government will be doing, because he is completely committed to Northern Ireland and believes that it is a wonderful place. That is why he takes every opportunity to tell the rest of the world what a fabulous place it is, and why he brought the G8 summit to County Fermanagh.

Turning to the mechanics of passing the Bill, any delay would be a great mistake. I therefore very much welcome the support that the Bill has received from hon. Members from Northern Ireland, who have rightly highlighted the importance of corporation tax devolution to their constituents and the potential benefits it could deliver. I welcome, too, the recent U-turn by the Leader of the Opposition, who last week confirmed that Labour will facilitate the passage of the Bill. I am most grateful for that. That recognises the firm and consistent support for the change from the five parties in the Northern Ireland Executive, as well as the fact that this new piece of devolution has a key part to play in the Stormont House agreement.

Stormont House Agreement

Gregory Campbell Excerpts

Wednesday 7th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Villiers]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his hugely important work in the cross-party talks and for delivering what I believe is a good agreement overall, although his input on the past has been particularly highly valued. It is important that all participants—the UK Government, the Irish Government and the Executive parties—play their part and live up to the obligations they have undertaken. Minister Flanagan has repeated on many occasions that his Government would co-operate with those institutions; I have every confidence that they will do so.

[Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry) (DUP)]

I commend the statement and acknowledge the comprehensive efforts made by all involved in reaching the agreement. The Secretary of State alluded to the need to ensure that the process did not become a rewriting of history. Will she go further and indicate to the wider public in Northern Ireland that there has to be a distinction between the genuinely innocent victims in the past who were murdered and butchered, and those who caused that murder and butchery and happened to be caught up in violence of their own hand?

[Mrs Villiers]

Of course there is a very clear distinction between those two. I know that there continues to be controversy around the way that the law defines a victim, which has been the barrier to taking forward the proposal for a pension for severely physically injured victims. The hon. Gentleman will appreciate that the agreement commits to there being further work on whether we can find a way to enable that pension to be taken forward without raising those problems around the definition of “victim”. It is a difficult issue, but one that we should all continue to try to find an answer to.

Oral Answers to Questions

Gregory Campbell Excerpts

Wednesday 29th October 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Villiers]

We are doing better than that. We are actually cutting national insurance contributions for employers across the whole of the United Kingdom. As from April, employers in Northern Ireland—just as in the rest of the UK—will not pay any national insurance contributions at all on the people they employ who are under 21. That is real action, helping young people in Northern Ireland into jobs.

[Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry) (DUP)]

Young people in Northern Ireland can be exploited rather than given employment opportunities. Tomorrow night in Londonderry an event is scheduled to mark the 40th anniversary of a young man of 16, having been recruited to the IRA, killing himself in a bomb explosion. Does the Secretary of State agree with me that Sinn Fein representatives in Northern Ireland should be helping to create employment opportunities for young people rather than trying to rewrite history about a small number of young people being given instructions to carry out bomb attacks who ended up destroying their own lives and the lives of others?

[Mrs Villiers]

I urge anyone who is planning any form of commemoration to consider the impacts of their decisions and choices on people from all sides of the community. I certainly have concerns about the sort of commemoration to which the hon. Gentleman referred. As well as addressing matters relating to the past, it is important for both the Executive and the UK Government to focus strongly on sustaining the recovery in Northern Ireland’s economy. It is going well—unemployment is falling—but there is, of course, more to do to tackle youth unemployment. This Government will continue to do so through their long-term economic plan.

Oral Answers to Questions

Gregory Campbell Excerpts

Wednesday 16th July 2014 Commons Chamber

[Dr Murrison]

Notwithstanding my remarks about the value of the inquiry, the Government have been clear that although each case will be considered on its merits, we should indeed resist further costly, open-ended inquiries. I note that the Inquiries Act 2005 will help in that regard.

[Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry) (DUP)]

May I welcome the Minister to his new position? Does he agree that the taxpayer is still paying for the ongoing costs of the Saville inquiry—as a reply I received from the Secretary of State in the past few weeks made clear—10 years after the last witness left the stand and after the £191 million was expended?

[Dr Murrison]

Yes, I can only say that the Saville inquiry was set up under the previous Administration, under rules that existed at that time, and that Lord Saville was given free rein—rightly—in his independent inquiry. The hon. Gentleman is right to say that, so many years after this began, the costs are still coming in. Nevertheless, the value of the Saville inquiry is clear, and we need to understand that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Gregory Campbell Excerpts

Wednesday 11th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Robathan]

If I may digress slightly, I pay tribute to the retiring Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, Matt Baggott, who was previously chief constable of Leicestershire, and wish him well in his retirement. I also wish his successor, George Hamilton, well in his post.

As the right hon. Gentleman knows, the matter is complicated. I do not think that we disagree about it at all. There are political parties in Northern Ireland—Sinn Fein and the Social Democratic and Labour party—that refuse to sign up to the National Crime Agency. We want the National Crime Agency to move forward in Northern Ireland and the serious gaps that are emerging in crime prevention and pursuit to be closed, but he will understand from his past that we have devolved policing and justice and that, unless we wish to break the Sewel convention, we will have to work with the parties in Northern Ireland to get some agreement.

[Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry) (DUP)]

The Minister will be aware that there have been numerous incidents in Northern Ireland in the past two or three years involving organised criminal gangs on the border, particularly fuel smuggling, fuel laundering, and money laundering, and that has escalated over the past two years. Will he outline the consequences of a failure to have the National Crime Agency fully operational in Northern Ireland?

[Mr Robathan]

It has been said that serious gaps are emerging. As the hon. Gentleman will understand, these are devolved matters, but we are keen that the National Crime Agency should be able to pursue organised and serious crime in Northern Ireland, and there is no difference between us on that at all. Two parties in the Executive are holding things up, however, and I ask why they are doing that and why we do not all want to pursue serious criminality in the Province.