Richard Drax
Main Page: Richard Drax (Conservative - South Dorset)Department Debates - View all Richard Drax's debates with the Northern Ireland Office
(9 years, 10 months ago)
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Mrs Villiers
For the reasons I have given, I am reluctant to get into the specifics of this case. As I have mentioned, the hon. Lady will find some further detail on these matters on page 108 of the Hallett report. In particular, there is a real concern that the offence in question was a post-1998 offence.
Richard Drax (South Dorset) (Con)
Having done three operational tours in Northern Ireland, I fully appreciate that some areas are murky and remain so, and these 200 letters were a shabby effort to sign up to the peace deal. Will the Secretary of State tell me how long it will take to investigate these 95 people who have received letters? As we understand it, through intelligence, they are connected to 300 murders, so how long will it take to pursue this and ensure that proper justice is done?
Mrs Villiers
As I have said to the House, it will, unfortunately, take some years to go through all the OTR cases. That is why we will need to give serious consideration as to whether some of the extra funding provided as a result of the Stormont House agreement to deal with matters relating to the past can be used in some way to assist the PSNI in this important work.