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Northern Ireland

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, for repeating the Statement made by the Secretary of State in another place. We welcome, completely and wholeheartedly, the withdrawal of this Bill. In response to the Secretary of State’s plea for help from the Opposition on Northern Ireland affairs during the Christmas Recess, I can assure the noble Lord that normal service will be returned. Her Majesty’s Government succeeded in creating an all-party consensus against the Bill. According to today’s Belfast Telegraph, 63 per cent of the Northern Ireland public considered it unacceptable. We congratulate Her Majesty’s Government on joining that consensus. The Secretary of State is asking all parties to substantial discussions about a way forward. I suggest that progress for a successful outcome depends on a few key issues. The first is the rebuilding of a very fractured trust among all parties. Having heard the debate in the other place, I know that my honourable friend David Lidington and the Secretary of State are in agreement over most of that. It has to be remembered that this will not happen overnight. Secondly, an end to all violence and criminality is vital. Again, that cannot be judged by one, or even two, reports from the IMC. The monitoring process has to be continuous. The issues that the Northern Ireland (Offences) Bill sought to address still need resolving, as the Secretary of State has said. Does the noble Lord accept, on behalf of the Secretary of State, that one of the most serious criticisms of this Bill is the lack of sensitivity towards the victims and their families? Will the noble Lord assure the House that, when Her Majesty’s Government return to this issue in the future, the interests of victims will be paramount? The third issue is that full support for the PSNI and the criminal justice processes from all parties is absolutely vital. Reflecting forward, we have consistently supported devolution. We support the Secretary of State’s desire to see all institutions up and running before the 2007 elections. We do not wish to continue governing Northern Ireland by statutory instruments from your Lordships’ House and the other place which, to all of us, is foreign and we feel that we are unable to fulfil the true democratic role. However, as per the Good Friday agreement, we must be certain that the commitment to peaceful and democratic means is permanent and irreversible before the final endgame, referred to by the Secretary of State, can be played.