Speeches by Benn.

“The legacy Act offered a false promise of immunity. It was found to be incompatible with our obligations, and it had no support in Northern Ireland. At some point, Opposition Members must recognise that it had no support there. How can Northern Ireland move forward if the basis of the last Government’s legislation lack…”

“The hon. Gentleman will be aware of the protections that we have put into legislation following the discussions that we have had with veterans, which I referred to earlier. I join him in again paying tribute to the extraordinarily brave service of all those who served during the time of Operation Banner in trying to pr…”

“I apologise if I have got this wrong, but I do not remember using the word “equivalence”. What I said was that independent prosecutors would make decisions on the basis of the evidence that they had before them. The current legacy commission is able to refer cases for potential prosecution, and the new legacy commissio…”

“I agree with what the hon. Gentleman says and his characterisation of the immunity provisions in the legacy Act. Nick Pope, the chair of the Confederation of Service Charities, said that the confederation welcomes “the development of the safeguards that have been put in place to offer protection to those within the arm…”

“The Irish Government do not have a veto. I stood next to the Tánaiste, Simon Harris, and I made commitments on behalf of the British Government and he made commitments on behalf of the Irish Government. All of us in the House who wish families to get the answers for which they have been searching for so long should wel…”

“I will do so when we have been able to inform the families in those cases. I hope that the hon. Gentleman would accept that it is only right and proper that we inform the families first, and then I will make a list available. On the reason for the Loughgall inquest, he will be aware that the former Attorney General sai…”

“I say to the hon. Member that the Saville inquiry report made for very sobering and distressing reading for all of us. Like many Members present, I was in the House to hear the former Prime Minister, Lord Cameron, make that apology to the families—something for which they had campaigned for years and years when justice…”

“The hon. Member raises an important point. It is, however, very important to distinguish, as I know she will, between potential criminal prosecutions, which are the result of decisions of independent prosecutors, and civil cases. One of the other things that the courts found was that the ban on civil cases was incompat…”

“Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. What I said was absolutely accurate, as the right hon. Gentleman well knows. On the circumstances of the trial of Mr Downey in relation to the Hyde Park bombing, the reason why the judge called that to a halt was set out. But subsequent statements made it quite clear that tho…”

“The protections were put in place for veterans after consulting veterans, and they are not unimportant: the ability to stay at home and give evidence; the protection from repeated investigations; and the right to seek immunity in a hearing of the commission—people already have the right to seek that in a coroner’s cour…”

“The letters of comfort—or the on-the-run letters, however one wishes to describe them—had their origin in the time after the Good Friday agreement, as the hon. Gentleman will be well aware, but, as I explained a moment ago in answer to the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith), they…”

“We stood together—Tánaiste Simon Harris and myself—at Hillsborough on 19 September. I made commitments on behalf of the British Government; he made commitments on behalf of the Irish Government. I have no doubt at all that the Irish Government will honour its commitments. We have already demonstrated, with the publicat…”

“Fleur, I am going to turn to you at this point.”

“I know that you have just been taking evidence from him. I am very grateful to him for having undertaken the work. The Government will publish its formal response within the six months required under the arrangements that have been set out. I thought it was a very good report. It reflects what a number of other people …”

“It is not a game—it is really practical, in order to bring relief to the people of Northern Ireland.”

“It is not a game—it is really practical, in order to bring relief to the people of Northern Ireland.”

“And I didn’t. I was very careful not to say that everything was rosy, because in my preamble I accepted producing those statistics. I entirely get why businesses say, “Well, why are we having to march further up the regulatory hill, when we can see the promised land of the SPS agreement beckoning from the distance?” It…”

“There are a number of questions there. I met it last at the East-West Council, and I met individual members—Roger Pollen, for example—when I met the FSB recently. It was presenting its work programme to the East-West Council. I am grateful to all the members for agreeing to take on this task; they have a very important…”

“Businesses decide where they buy from and where they sell to. It is certainly not my understanding of the operation of the Windsor framework that there is a role for anyone else to tell businesses where they should buy from or to whom they should sell their goods. Is there?”

“I am not sure I understand the question.”