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First World War Soldiers (Pardons)

: If the hon. Gentleman will forgive me, I am tight for time and there are a couple of points that I would like to make. We regard the soldiers who were executed as victims, along with millions of others, of a cataclysmic and ghastly war. The hon. Member for Mid-Norfolk asked me a number of questions, and I shall briefly respond to them. He asked whether any documents had come to light. No new documents have come to light in support of the case from any source whatever. No files have been found of those sentenced to death but reprieved; they would have been routinely destroyed, and we know that some were destroyed during the bombing in the last world war. The Government's legal view on the matter has not changed, but of course we must await the judgment in the Farr case before we can determine a reaction to it. As I said, we are considering the request from the Irish Government, and we will respond to it in due course. My hon. and learned Friend the Member for Redcar (Vera Baird) made a moving comment about the stigma attached to families. We fully understand that, and it motivates us to try to be reasonable and do something. I do not agree with her that the Criminal Cases Review Commission is the way to deal with the matter; I do not think that that approach would solve the problem for us. The hon. Member for Portsmouth, South (Mr. Hancock) made it quite clear that he believes, as do a number of colleagues, that a pardon is appropriate; I think that he made those remarks in 1998, too. He was supported in what he said by the hon. Member for Colchester (Bob Russell). The hon. Member for New Forest, East (Dr. Lewis), who spoke for the Opposition, posed a number of important questions that are still to be answered if we are to resolve the matter satisfactorily. I said at the beginning of my reply that we want to resolve the matter. Many hon. Members have raised points that I want to consider. Like all hon. Members, I can only imagine the horrors that people went through in the trenches in the first world war; like all hon. Members, I recognise the painful consequences for the families concerned; and like all hon. Members, I have a desire to ease the pain and suffering that the families are experiencing. However, that has to be done legally if we are to do it properly, and if it is to mean anything at all.