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Northern Ireland

My Lords, I welcome that welcome for the Statement, although I reject some of the noble Lord’s points, I do not wish to have an argument with him this afternoon. The Bill came as a surprise to no one; it was foreshadowed in writing in 2003, in public documents. Everybody knew what would happen if and when the IRA finally gave up the war. It was part of a commitment which the Government entered into and fulfilled. There is no consensus on the Bill and, indeed, the prospect of the victims getting nothing out of the Bill was one clincher in its withdrawal.