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Northern Ireland (St Andrews Agreement) Bill

I did respond briefly to the intervention by the hon. Member for Montgomeryshire (Lembit Öpik)—very briefly, because, with all due respect, I did not think I needed to add any more. However, I agree emphatically with my hon. Friend the Member for Foyle—the hon. Member for Foyle—well, both actually. I think that he was right to press his point. If this process ends, the institutional changes for which the DUP, in particular, has pressed will collapse as well. They will disappear. There are tough choices for everyone. It is not about bullying or blackmailing; it is about the time when minds must be made up. I am not directly accountable, I am not elected, but I do not believe from what they have told me day in, day out that the people of Northern Ireland will allow the show to go on for ever. Notwithstanding some of the points that have been made tonight, particularly by DUP Members, I prefer the wise comments that were made on the day when the Royal Irish Regiment was commemorated and celebrated in Belfast in the presence of the Queen.