Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, which recommendations of the Hallett Report have already been implemented; and if she will make a statement.

All of the recommendations of the Hallett Report have now either been implemented or are in the process of implementation.

I have addressed the first four recommendations through public statements. These were that the Northern Ireland Office should:

Clarify with all relevant parties whether the NIO will retain responsibility for determining the future of the scheme;

Confirm whether any element of the scheme still exists and, if so, whether it will continue:

Seek legal advice, in conjunction with the police and prosecuting authorities, to determine whether it should notify any individuals whose status, as communicated to them, has changed or may change in the future; and

Consider how to mitigate against further abuse of process arguments, for example by confirming to recipients the factual and contemporaneous nature of their letters of assurance.

In response to these recommendations, I have made it clear that:

· This scheme has ended;

· Letters issued in whatever form do not represent any commitment that the recipient will not be investigated or prosecuted, if that is now considered appropriate by the responsible authorities;

· Those who received individual or composite letters indicating that they were ‘not wanted’ and who derived comfort from that, should cease to derive any such comfort;

· Recipients should cease to place any reliance on their letters;

· Decisions about investigation and prosecution in specific cases, now or in the future, will be taken on the basis of intelligence and/or evidence relating to whether or not the person concerned committed offences; and,

· These decisions will be based on the views of those who now have responsibility for these matters. Their views may be the same as those that led to the letters being sent in the past, or they may be different.

In addition, the Hallett report also made the following recommendations for the Government:

Co-ordinate the investigation of the potential errors identified by this Review and, in conjunction with the police and prosecuting authorities, resolve them at the earliest opportunity:

Consider establishing a procedure for recording on a central register – where this is appropriate – the use of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy.

An ‘On the Runs’ Policy Oversight Board has been set up, chaired by the NIO, which will address these recommendations. NIO officials are liaising with the Ministry of Justice in relation to the proposal for a central register for the use of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy.