Patrick Finucane: Supreme Court Judgment

Jeffrey M Donaldson Excerpts

Monday 30th November 2020 Commons Chamber

[Brandon Lewis]

I would say to my hon. Friend, who chairs the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, that shortly after the statement in March, when we discussed legacy issues with victims groups, they asked us to pause because the people they represent were facing the challenges of covid. I felt that that was the right thing to do, so we paused that engagement. Over the last few weeks, I have been talking to civic society, as I do regularly, and people across civic society and across the communities obviously have a huge interest in legacy.

The point I have made consistently since the written ministerial statement in March this year is that, to move forward on legacy and to move forward in Northern Ireland, we have to bring people together, and as my hon. Friend rightly says, people across communities have to be clear about what they need to look forward and get the information that can lead to reconciliation. It is right that we engage widely and deeply with civic society and victims groups, as well as political parties and our partners in the Irish Government, before we come back with proposals. I am determined to do that. We have a duty to do that—a duty to the people of Northern Ireland—but we want to do that in a methodical and proper way. I hope people will see that going through these investigations in a methodical and proper way plays a part in that.

[Sir Jeffrey M. Donaldson (Lagan Valley) (DUP)]

We welcome the Secretary of State’s decision. Equally, we condemn the murder of Pat Finucane. On my 21st birthday, my friend and colleague Edgar Graham, a lawyer and lecturer at Queen’s University, was murdered by the Provisional IRA. There were people involved—not only the gunman, but others who gave information that led to his murder, pointing the finger towards Edgar’s movements and so on. Is it not the case that all innocent victims are entitled to access to justice and to truth, including the family of Edgar Graham, a young lawyer cut down in his prime, and that what we really need is not special attention to any one case but an holistic approach to legacy that enables all innocent victims to have access to truth and justice?

[Brandon Lewis]

The right hon. Gentleman makes a very powerful point. That is why I specifically made the point in my opening remarks about dealing with the legacy in its entirety and recognising that a great number of people across communities have suffered loss and still do not have information or understanding of what happened to some of their family. We have to find a way through this. We have a duty to do everything we can to bring that information forward. That is why this week, we will publish further information on this case that has not yet been in the public domain. The more information we can bring out and secure for families and victims, the better for the future of Northern Ireland. It is right that we do that for everybody who was affected.