Oral Answers to Questions

Ruth Jones Excerpts

Wednesday 7th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Hilary Benn]

I apologise to the hon. Gentleman that he has not received the letter to which he referred, and I assure him that I will remedy that very promptly. Defence Ministers and I have met a large number of organisations, and I would just point out that none of the six protections that the Government have put forward were contained in the previous Government’s legacy Act—not a single one. We intend to continue to listen, and to respond to the concerns that have been raised.

[Ruth Jones (Newport West and Islwyn) (Lab)]

3. What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the UK’s membership of the European convention on human rights on the Belfast agreement.

[Peter Lamb (Crawley) (Lab)]

5. What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the UK’s membership of the European convention on human rights on the Belfast agreement.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Hilary Benn)]

The European convention on human rights underpins not only the Good Friday agreement, but key international agreements on trade, security and migration. The Government are committed to the ECHR. We also remain determined to uphold the Good Friday agreement and human rights in Northern Ireland.

[Ruth Jones]

I thank the Secretary of State for that response. The Good Friday agreement was indeed a proud legacy of the last Labour Government, so does he agree that the reckless approach adopted by Opposition parties towards the ECHR risks undermining the huge progress made since 1998?

[Hilary Benn]

I do agree with my hon. Friend, and it is clear that those advocating leaving the ECHR have not given any serious consideration to the implications for the Good Friday agreement. Indeed, when pressed on that in the summer, the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage) noted that it could take

“years and years to solve, so that will not be at the forefront of what we do.”

I would simply say that that is not good enough, and that those who advocate leaving the ECHR need to reflect on what they are arguing for.