Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether Operation Denton's report findings will be permitted to adjudicate on the criminality of members of the armed forces and security services; and what assessment they have made of the application of article 6 the European Convention on Human Rights on the right to a fair trial, given that Operation Denton is not a police investigation.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Operation Denton is a thematic review, not a criminal investigation. As per its Terms of Reference, “the discovery of matters amounting to possible criminal misconduct which may be amenable to further criminal investigation will be brought to the attention of the Chief Constable of PSNI by the OIOC.”
In 2019, the Barnard Judgment at the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal [2019] (NICA 38) set out the requirement for an independent review of the activities of the so-called ‘Glenanne Gang’. The then Chief Constable of PSNI requested that the enquiries were conducted by Jon Boutcher, who at the time was the Officer in Overall Command of Operation Kenova. Operation Denton commenced in February 2020.
I understand the Operation Kenova and Operation Denton reports are nearing completion and will be passed to the PSNI soon. The PSNI will then consider the final details around publication of the reports.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will confirm what statutory basis Operation Denton operates upon when it publishes its report.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
In 2019, the Barnard Judgment at the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal [2019] (NICA 38) set out the requirement for an independent review of the activities of the so-called ‘Glenanne Gang’. In discharge of the Judicial instruction, the then Chief Constable of the PSNI requested that the enquiries were conducted by Jon Boutcher, who at the time was the Officer in Overall Command of Operation Kenova. Operation Denton commenced in February 2020.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether Operation Denton investigators travelled to Dublin on 8 October, and if so, whether they briefed campaign groups on their findings and confidential material.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
It is not for the Government to comment on the internal operational practices of Operation Denton or any other independent review or investigation.
I understand the Operation Kenova and Operation Denton reports are nearing completion and will be passed to the PSNI soon. The PSNI will then consider the final details around publication of the reports.
Asked by: Baroness Hoey (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the statutory basis of Operation Denton.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
In 2019, the Barnard Judgment at the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal [2019] (NICA 38) set out the requirement for an independent review of the activities of the so-called ‘Glenanne Gang’. In discharge of the Judicial instruction, the then Chief Constable of the PSNI requested that the enquiries were conducted by Jon Boutcher, who at the time was the Officer in Overall Command of Operation Kenova. Operation Denton commenced in February 2020.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Windsor Framework on local airports.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Windsor Framework gives Northern Ireland unique dual market access which ensures the free movement of goods across the UK and the EU, whilst maintaining the frictionless movement of people and goods on the island of Ireland.
Duty-free shopping is not available between Northern Ireland and the EU, as it would require the application of personal allowances and associated border checks, to prevent the uncontrolled flow of tax-free goods into either Northern Ireland or the EU.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2025 to Question 81262 on Connect Fund: Northern Ireland, how many of the 24 applications to the Connect Fund were successful.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Connect Fund has continued to receive a positive reaction from the voluntary and community sector and I am glad to see many innovative projects are already underway. In the August window, 24 applications were received with 11 of these subsequently awarded funding.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he has had discussions with the European Union on barriers to selling poppies under the Windsor Framework.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Government engages with the European Union on a range of issues on a regular basis. I can confirm that there are no barriers to selling poppies in respect of the Poppy Appeal under the Windsor Framework, and the Government has updated the relevant GOV.UK guidance to reflect this.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to the assurances he gave during his opening speech at the Second Reading of the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill, that nobody who had taken part in paramilitary activity would be able to participate in the Victims and Survivors Advisory Group, what clause within the Bill underpins those assurances.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Clause 8(3) of the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill sets out that appointments to the Victims and Survivors Advisory Group are made by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, following the consultation set out in Clause 9.
The Government will not appoint anyone who was previously involved in paramilitary activity to the Victims and Survivors Advisory Group.
Asked by: Jim Allister (Traditional Unionist Voice - North Antrim)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2025 to Question 90013 on UK Internal Trade, with reference to the Windsor Framework Independent Monitory Panel Report on the first reporting period for the UK Internal Market Guarantee for 1 January - 30 June 2025, what proportion of the 96% movements by value moved without the payment of a duty (a) were made in compliance with (i) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/1128 of 24 March 2023 and (ii) Regulation (EU) 2023/1231 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2023 and (b) were made under the full EU Customs Code, Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 October 2013.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The role of the Independent Monitoring Panel does not cover reporting on the legislative basis under which movements between Great Britain and Northern Ireland take place.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of removing immunity from prosecution of perpetrators of crimes during the Troubles on their likelihood of (a) giving and (b) withholding testimony about unsolved murders of which they have knowledge; and what the evidence basis is for that assessment.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The provisions in the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 on immunity were found to be incompatible with our human rights obligations and never commenced. Those provisions were, in any case, opposed by political parties, by victims and survivors across communities in Northern Ireland, and by those veterans who saw immunity as an affront to the rule of law that they sought to protect, and as implying a moral equivalence between those who served the State in Northern Ireland and those who committed heinous terrorist crimes.
The Northern Ireland Troubles Bill will provide victims and families with the greatest possible opportunity to obtain the information they seek regarding Troubles-related incidents. The Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery already has significant powers, including powers to require disclosure from state bodies (that will, of course, include significant records pertaining to the actions of terrorist organisations), and the power to compel witnesses.
It is using those powers as part of its ongoing investigations into cases such as the Guildford Pub Bombings, the M62 Coach Bombings, and the Warrenpoint attack. All of these incidents were perpetrated by the IRA, and the ICRIR is seeking to provide answers for bereaved families of service personnel who were brutally murdered in those attacks.
Building on these powers, the Troubles Bill introduces provisions to further enhance the Commission’s investigative functions, and to further strengthen the disclosure regime to ensure that it is fair and transparent, and allows the greatest possible amount of information to be published, within the necessary safeguards of national security. This will be supported by the Irish Government’s commitment to provide the fullest possible cooperation of the Irish authorities with a reformed Commission, giving access to information for families that would otherwise not be available.
Furthermore, the Troubles Bill sets out that the Government will establish, alongside the Irish Government and on a pilot basis, the Independent Commission on Information Retrieval. This will be an international body that will seek to give families an additional means to retrieve information about Troubles-related deaths. Any information disclosed by individuals to the ICIR will be inadmissible in criminal and civil proceedings. The work of the ICIR must not impinge on criminal investigations.