---

Northern Ireland

My Lords, is the Minister aware that I was slightly surprised by the frankness of the Secretary of State when he admitted in a radio interview that the Bill had been brought forward as a result of a commitment made to the government of the republic and to IRA/Sinn Fein? Is he aware that I am, if anything, rather more surprised that the Secretary of State has admitted today that it has been vetoed by the IRA? A Government who would not accept the misgivings that were expressed in the other place, and were perhaps fearful of what might happen to the Bill here, have now allowed a terrorist organisation to veto a Bill which the noble Lord himself described as ““necessary””.