Hallett Report

Ivan Lewis Excerpts

Tuesday 9th September 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Ivan Lewis (Bury South) (Lab)]

I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of her statement. The continued pain of the families and friends of the Hyde park victims should be at the forefront of our minds today, as well as all those in both communities who have never had truth or justice in relation to their own injuries or the loss of loved ones during the troubles. The outcome of the Downey case undoubtedly caused further distress to people who have suffered enough and deserved better. That is why I felt it was right to apologise for the catastrophic error that occurred in this specific case. I repeat that apology today.

However, it is also right to be robust in reminding people of the hard realities and tough choices that faced those striving against the odds to end the violence and secure a historic political agreement. Decisions were made and things done to make possible a peace process that, for all Northern Ireland’s challenges, has stood the test of time, a peace process that ended 30 years of troubles and brought to an end the killings, brutality and fear that destroyed too many lives.

If anyone thinks that it was easy, they have neither studied Northern Ireland’s history, nor reflected on the current political stalemate across a range of issues, a stalemate caused partly by an inability to compromise and partly because some of the issues touch festering sores not healed by the passage of time. In that context, the First Minister’s comments today should be welcomed as a frank acknowledgment that although much progress has been made, the current situation is unsustainable.

As the Secretary of State has repeatedly said, the OTR scheme was neither unlawful nor offered an amnesty to recipients of the letters. Lady Justice Hallett confirmed that to be the case. The clear intent of the scheme was to inform people not being sought by the police or prosecuting authorities that that was their status at the time their letter was sent. It was also clearly the intent of the scheme to make them aware that if any future evidence of a crime became available, they would be subject to appropriate action by the criminal justice system. However, Lady Justice Hallett found that errors had been made in at least two cases in addition to Downey, and identified the possibility that there may have been other examples where the basis or content of letters was questionable. In those circumstances the Government are right to seek to minimise the risk that other victims could be denied justice in the future. All Northern Ireland’s parties accept that the needs of victims must be at the centre of any new approach to dealing with the past. If that commitment is to mean anything, the Government had no option but to issue today’s clarification on the status of the letters.

I have some questions for the Secretary of State. How long does she estimate that it will take for the Police Service of Northern Ireland to assess each case covered by the OTR scheme, and is she satisfied that it has sufficient resources to undertake that work? Does she agree that while there may be circumstances where an agreed truth recovery process could protect people from incriminating themselves, an across-the-board amnesty would fail the non-negotiable test of creating a system to deal with the past that puts the needs of victims at centre stage? Is she willing to accept that there is an urgent need for the UK Government—where appropriate, supported by the Irish Government—to create and facilitate a process in support of the Northern Ireland parties that can seek to end the stalemate on the Haass issues, including the past and welfare reform? I conclude by thanking Lady Justice Hallett once again for her thorough and balanced report.

[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.