Hallett Report

Owen Paterson Excerpts

Tuesday 9th September 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Villiers]

I thank the shadow Secretary of State for his support for the statement. Like him, I think that the concerns of victims must lie at the heart of our response to the OTR scheme, and I apologise to them for the error that was made and the pain that the Downey case has caused. I am happy to reiterate that apology. As the hon. Gentleman said, I also recognise that the First Minister’s comments today in the Belfast Telegraph are an important statement to which I will give careful thought. It is important that these matters are discussed with care across the Northern Ireland political parties. As I said in a speech to the British-Irish Association last week, it is important that progress is made on welfare reform, as well as on flags, parading and the past.

In response to the last question by the shadow Secretary of State, I say clearly that the Government will continue to do all we can to bring all the parties back to the table on those matters, and facilitate and push for an agreed way forward.

How long it will take the PSNI to assess all the cases processed under the scheme is primarily a matter for it, and it would not be appropriate for me to speak on its behalf. It has indicated, however, that it could take years and will not be done in a matter of months. We also had a recent statement by the Chief Constable that his resources will impact on his ability to deal with legacy issues of this sort, and the resources available to the PSNI are affected by the current debate on welfare reform. It appears that the in-year cuts being made to the PSNI’s budget will have an impact on its ability to deal with legacy cases, so I expect they will also impact on the speed with which it can consider these cases.

[Mr Owen Paterson (North Shropshire) (Con)]

I thank the Secretary of State for her statement. On matters to do with OTRs we should always consider the victims, and victims’ families will welcome her statement today, confirming the view of Lady Justice Hallett that the letters could never have been considered in any way to represent an amnesty, and that should fresh evidence come forward those who received letters will be subject to the full force of the law. Will the Secretary of State confirm the Government’s robust view that an amnesty was never appropriate, and that all applications for the royal prerogative of mercy received by the Government have been refused by the Government?

[Mrs Villiers]

I am happy to confirm what I have said on many occasions: this was not an amnesty, and that has been confirmed by all those who have appeared in front of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee. I believe it is confirmed by Lady Justice Hallett, and it was confirmed by Sir Nigel Sweeney in the Downey judgment. The Government have always strongly opposed amnesties, which is why they opposed the Northern Ireland (Offences) Bill. If we had inherited a scheme that involved an amnesty, we would have stopped it immediately. This was not an amnesty, and we will not be introducing an amnesty under any circumstances.