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Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill

The Bill before us is an odd one. It is something of a dog’s breakfast in that it contains all sorts of bits and scraps, some not particularly substantive. Yes, there are important provisions and some welcome ones, but as we will show, the most significant feature of the Bill is what is not in it, rather than what is. It is interesting that, introducing the debate, the Secretary of State took a lot of time to deal with the subject of MI5 and there were many interventions on the future of intelligence policing when there is nothing in the Bill that deals directly with that matter. If the Bill made direct provision for the enhanced and expanded role that appears to be envisaged for MI5, that would be good cause to vote against it, even on Second Reading; however, it does not. That does not reassure those of us who are concerned about plans for the future of intelligence policing—a point that will be developed by my hon. Friends when they speak. We cannot accept the Secretary of State’s assurance in relation to MI5 that what has happened in the past will not happen in the future. What basis do we have for accepting such an assurance from a Government who are in denial about what has happened in the past and who, through measures such as the Inquiries Act 2005, have acted precisely and deliberately to make sure that the truth cannot emerge about things that happened in the past, courtesy of MI5. In their interventions, hon. Members referred to various paramilitary organisations and terrorist groups. All the terrorist organisations in Northern Ireland have comported themselves as paramilitary organisations, but the sad and shameful reality is that military interests in Northern Ireland—namely, MI5—have in the past comported themselves as para-terrorists in their handling of and engagement, involvement, collusion and complicity in all sorts of crimes committed by terrorists. They did not share intelligence that could have been used to apprehend people, to alert people, or to save lives. Such was the nature of its operations that MI5 literally, as my hon. Friend the Member for South Down (Mr. McGrady) said, conspired to allow people to get away with murder. When the Government seem content to cover up those aspects of the past, I find it hard to accept their assurances about the future. The suggestion made was that MI5—with its record in Northern Ireland—is to be some new feature. Listening to the Secretary of State talk about trying to bring Northern Ireland into line with the rest of the United Kingdom, one might think that Northern Ireland had never had MI5 and its intelligence operatives before. Well, we have, and we have had far too many of them. Trusting the future of intelligence policing to MI5 is like making Herod the children’s commissioner—it goes against the whole record of experience and legitimate interest. MI5 has not shown respect for the rights of the citizens of Northern Ireland, it has not respected life and it has not respected the duties and responsibilities of other law enforcement agencies, and I have seen nothing to tell me that that will change in future. That is why we have fundamental concerns about the plans for the future of intelligence policing. It is all very well the Secretary of State saying that the police service will have operational responsibility when the Security Service advises the police of something: the big question is what about the circumstances in which the Security Service does not advise the police of something, or deliberately misadvises them? All that has happened in the past, and there is nothing to assure us that it will not happen in the future. In addition, as the Secretary of State has indicated, intelligence policing in the hands of MI5 will not be subject to any of the scrutiny, challenge or accountability available in relation to the police service in the form of appeals to the Policing Board or the ombudsman’s office and, in the context of devolution, challenge in the Assembly. Legitimate national security issues will still have to be addressed but, as I said in an intervention, the Patten report clearly recommended that the Chief Constable report to the Secretary of State on such matters, rather than to devolved bodies and the Policing Board. That is the way forward—stick to the Patten path.