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Northern Ireland (Sentences) Act 1998 (Specified Organisations) Order 2008

I am grateful for the comments. In answer to the noble Lord, Lord Bew, the power will not be devolved. I regret if that was not made clear during the debate in the other place. If and when the devolution of criminal justice arises, this issue will not be devolved. It will remain with the Secretary of State at the Northern Ireland Office. I have made that clear on the record. I am grateful for the muted support. I realise that there is general support. The last thing that the Government or I are saying is that these organisations are perfect. They are not. I was rightly asked why it had taken so long to specify Óglaigh na hEireann and was then criticised for despecifying the Ulster Volunteer Force, but the Ulster Volunteer Force’s statement of 3 May 2007, which I shall not read out, is, from its point of view, quite momentous. In many ways, it is along the lines of what came out from the IRA. It is clear from the last paragraph that it took the UVF three years to issue that statement; it was not an overnight job. I will put the final paragraph of the statement on the record: "““Finally we convey our appreciation for the honest forthright exchange with officers, NCOs and volunteers throughout the organisation over the past three years which has allowed us to assume with confidence the position we adopt today””."