Speeches by Eastwood.

“I thank my right hon. Friend for bringing this debate. Whenever I wrote to the relevant Minister a year ago, the MOD confirmed that there were at least 310 people in Northern Ireland who fell within scope, but I agree entirely that there is absolutely no point in the Government deciding to fight this or seek in any way…”

“Health is a devolved matter, but the fight against cancer is not. Will the Minister join me in praising the work of the All-Island Cancer Research Institute, which is led by Queen’s and others, and ensure that our efforts to address cancer are done not just in Northern Ireland or the four nations, but between these isl…”

“I pay tribute to the people who have brought this issue so far. Would the hon. Gentleman agree that the emotional toll he speaks of is living large in the lives of those families and that they deserve, at the absolute least, an apology and redress?”

“Does the hon. Member agree that, at a time when trust across the UK is at a low, what the public—and victims and survivors—out there will see is the wagons being circled, no matter which party is involved? Trust is the real casualty today. Does the hon. Member agree that that is what is at stake?”

“If that trend or trajectory continues, what do you think will be the biggest impact on day-to-day community policing? You have already talked about neighbourhood policing.”

“I welcome this move today by the Government, and I welcome the removal of the word “reconciliation”. There is a lot that I would like to say about this matter, but we are short of time so I will just get to the point. I have heard some remarks today that are incredibly disturbing and distressing. I do not want to pick …”

“I have one last question to the both of you. From some of your opening remarks, and certainly from what the Chief Constable said last week in evidence, it is clear that legacy has an impact on day-to-day policing, as well as on community confidence and people potentially wanting to join. Do you think there is a double …”

“I think there is a huge issue there. We had the current Chief Constable with us last week, and I asked him this same question. Do you think we should have a situation where, because the vast majority of legacy cases were under direct rule and were therefore under the previous legacy body, which reported directly to the…”

“You are in danger of leading me into the second part of my question.”

“It is great to see both of you again. Thank you for being here today. One issue that has come up both initially and throughout the conversation so far is funding and resourcing. I really want to get into the idea of how that is impacting our policing today, as well as the impact in terms of the obligations the PSNI has…”

“Thank you, Chair. I am really glad that you raised that, Chief Constable. When I spoke about this on the Floor of the House just before Christmas, one of my major concerns was that, if we do get a troubles Bill that the parties are broadly prepared to accept, we would have hamstrung the PSNI from the off, because we kn…”

“I want to come back briefly to something that you said earlier, Chief Constable, about policing families. I am very proud of the service of the RUC and the people who were close to me that served and still do the job now. I think it was important that you said what you said today, because there has been a feeling, cert…”

“I want to build slightly on what Claire has brought out there. It is so difficult to have these conversations. There is not a single unaffected family anywhere across these islands—not just Northern Ireland. We have to remember that the troubles spanned not just these islands, the UK and Ireland, but continental, mainl…”

“I thank the hon. and learned Member for making his point. I see where he is coming from. I believe that Brexit was a fundamental act of self-harm. I think it caused damage to relations, and certainly I think that most people in Northern Ireland—Unionist, nationalist or other—regret Brexit. I completely understand where…”

“I beg to move, That this House has considered the potential merits of reforming Northern Ireland’s political institutions. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship today, Ms Vaz. I was talking briefly to colleagues on the way over here and I said, “This time a year ago, almost, we had the exact same debate.” T…”

“Does the hon. Gentleman agree that it is important to have a functioning Government in Northern Ireland, because the local growth fund and what the UK Government have done on that for Northern Ireland demonstrate that only Northern Ireland can look out for itself? We cannot expect others to keep doing it for us. That i…”

“Actually, I agree: I want Northern Ireland to succeed and I do want to be a success for Northern Ireland. Does the hon. and learned Member not agree that the constant collapses are destroying the premise of a successful Northern Ireland and we should do everything we can to stop that happening?”

“Does the hon. Gentleman agree that the situation we have, whereby Governments can simply go without being formed, would be anathema anywhere in the home counties, whether it is a local mayoralty or a regional district within GB? Surely to goodness that would not be tolerated in the UK—and Northern Ireland is indeed par…”

“I am really glad that the right hon. Member is making this point, because there is a bit of an idea out there that this is about not protecting minorities. Does he not agree that the make-up of Northern Ireland is very different and that everybody is a minority, and therefore everybody—Unionists, nationalists and peopl…”

“Does the hon. Member agree that the concept of Northern Ireland working is absolutely key and fundamental; that a system of government that collapses plays straight into the hands of those who are not particularly interested in a prosperous, progressive and inclusive Northern Ireland; and therefore that anybody who car…”