Speeches by Benn.

“We are just going to have to wait and see the process that we put in place and how it unfolds. I cannot prejudge or anticipate that. I have tried to be as open as I possibly can with the Select Committee in setting out the considerations that we are looking at and deciding how to take the question of inquests forward.”

“I have a hard enough job trying to sort this all out without spending all my time commenting on other people’s comments.”

“Sorry, whose comment are you referring to?”

“It is the relevant holder of the information. The coroner sees all of it but, as we know, in some cases the coroner has said, “I accept that the Government”—or the other holder of the information—“have made a very valid case as to why this information should not be disclosed”. The rules of the inquest prevent that info…”

“Yes, the owner of the information is responsible for doing that.”

“It is issued by me and the police, yes.”

“The coroner decides whether to accept the PII application. That has been the case for a very long time.”

“It depends. Those that had started—that had actually begun—yes, as I have said repeatedly, they will be restored. How they then unfold depends on the considerations that I have just set out to the Committee, in particular in relation to sensitive information. We know from previous experience that there are coroners who…”

“It would not be right to assume that. What I am putting to the Committee is that there will need to be a mechanism for determining the answer to the very fair question you have asked.”

“I have made it clear that those that had already started will resume. For the others, there are two issues. First, what is the speediest and most effective way of making progress in looking at a particular case? As I have come to learn more about the inquest process in Northern Ireland, I think it is fair to say that i…”

“Would you like to comment on that?”

“I did say, “Fine”. In which case, on the basis of what I have just said to you, Dr Pinkerton, it would seem reasonably sensible to say, “The commission can see a connection there. Can we make that connection ourselves?” We are still reflecting on precisely how that might work. It is very much a demand-led model, and th…”

“In looking for the idea of an oversight board for a reformed commission, which is something it does not have at the moment that Kenova has, I am envisaging that people would apply. They could come from anywhere, including internationally, and then appointments would be made. That is a possibility, depending on who woul…”

“I said, “Fine”—I hope I said, “Fine”.”

“We are thinking about that. I think that I am right in saying that one of the requests I received was to say, “We would like to link this investigation to another investigation”. Have I got that right?”

“I certainly have thought about it, because it seems a roundabout route. I get a letter saying, “We would like this to be investigated but we cannot post it direct to the commission so we are going to post it to you. Then you can put another stamp on it and post it on to the commission”. It does not seem very sensible t…”

“The first thing I would say is that information retrieval mechanisms should be available to anyone who wants to come forward and provide information for families. That is important. The presumption is that it will be non-state actors who will be making use of it, but that may not be the case in all circumstances. Secon…”

“That was the basis on which Stormont House was agreed. It is the basis of the ICLVR, which has succeeded in recovering the remains of a number of people murdered and disappeared by the IRA and buried. It is searching again, I think I am right in saying, as we speak, for Columba McVeigh. His family and all the families …”

“Yes.”

“This is a very important question and there are two aspects to it. The commission has two functions. One is investigative, where it thinks there is a case that it can investigate, but it is also to provide information and answers for families. There is great benefit in having the two things together in the commission. …”