Northern Ireland: On-the-Runs Scheme

Lord McAvoy Excerpts

Tuesday 27th January 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord McAvoy (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for repeating the Secretary of State’s Statement in the House of Commons. The revelation yesterday regarding the collapse of the inquest into the murder of Gareth O’Connor has caused further justifiable concern and anxiety in Northern Ireland. Our thoughts today must and should be with the O’Connor family. Like so many of those left behind, they sought truth and justice about what happened to Gareth in 2003. They have waited 12 long years for an inquest into the death of their son. The thought of preparing for a week-long inquest would have been harrowing for the family. This development has made a highly stressful situation even worse. News of another error from the administrative scheme for the on-the-runs is devastating, following the catastrophic error in the Downey case last year.

We have apologised for the Downey error, and do so again for the error in the O’Connor case. In the same way as this scheme never offered amnesty, it was also never intended to cover alleged offences committed after the signing of the Good Friday agreement. The delay in the coroner and the family being made aware of the error is deeply troubling. The Northern Ireland Office and the police knew about the case, and indeed—as the Minister has indicated—it was referred to in the Hallett report.

I have some questions for the Minister. Why did the Northern Ireland Office not ensure that this family were told of the error in the immediate aftermath of the Hallett report? How many other potential specific errors identified in the Hallett report are the Northern Ireland Office currently investigating? In view of the financial pressures facing the Police Service of Northern Ireland, what is the Minister’s estimate of the time it will take to review all the cases covered by the on-the-run scheme? Finally, in a related matter which has caused similar concerns, can the Minister give the House an update on investigations on the missing information as regards the royal prerogative before 1997?

[Baroness Randerson]

The noble Lord made a number of important points and asked a number of questions. I am very pleased to hear that the noble Lord has echoed the apologies already made by the PSNI and by the Secretary of State to the family concerned. Why were they not told of the error earlier? It is a very complex situation in terms of the independence of the judiciary and of the inquest service. However, it is important to bear in mind that the Secretary of State and the PSNI have apologised to the family for the impact of this new development on them. We fully understand the problems it raises for them.

The noble Lord asked for the number of errors that were identified in the Hallett report. The Hallett report identified the Downey case and two other errors, of which this is one, and there are 36 cases where there is concern. All these are being reinvestigated by the PSNI as part of Operation Redfield.

The noble Lord asked how long this will take. I can be no more satisfactory in my answer than to say a number of years, in the estimation of the PSNI. He also asked for an update on the information relating to the royal prerogative of mercy. Following the Hallett report, the Northern Ireland Office has taken steps to improve its administrative systems. Work is ongoing with stakeholders to identify if there is any more material to be found.