Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown
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Oral Answers to Questions
Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown Excerpts(12 years, 2 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Mr Paterson
That question should be addressed to my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary.
Dr William McCrea (South Antrim) (DUP)
Will the Secretary of State assure the House that the proposed changes will have no detrimental effect on the fight against terrorism and organised crime?
Mr Paterson
I assure the hon. Gentleman that it is absolutely the reverse: the proposal is for a stronger agency, with a clear remit to co-operate in a vigorous manner with the PSNI. As I have said, the PSNI works closely with the Garda—I saw Martin Callinan, the Garda Commissioner, in Dublin on Monday. We should never forget the extraordinarily high level of co-operation we have with the Garda. On very serious crime such as terrorism, that co-operation is saving lives as we speak.