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Northern Ireland: Massereene Army Base

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness for repeating the Statement. We on these Benches agree wholeheartedly with the sentiments expressed by the Secretary of State. We must first extend our sincere sympathy to the families of Sappers Mark Quinsey and Patrick Azimkar, the two soldiers who were killed on Saturday night. Those two young men were doing their duty and serving the whole community, before proceeding to Afghanistan. Our condolences go to their families, friends and colleagues—some of whom are still in Antrim, some already in Afghanistan. We also send our thoughts and sympathies to the families of those injured in the attack and continue to have in our thoughts the staff of Antrim Area Hospital, who continue to care for the wounded. We are indebted to all of them. We utterly condemn this outrageous atrocity. As we saw and heard from the people of Antrim in the media this morning, this attack has been roundly condemned and received no justification or support from any quarter. These brutal murders serve no cause, nor have they resulted in anything but suffering for the families involved. We add our voice to those who have appealed for anyone with any information about this shocking attack to report it to the police, and to co-operate with the police investigation. We also reinforce our support for the chief constable, Sir Hugh Orde, and his PSNI officers who have been subject to several—thankfully, so far, unsuccessful—attacks in recent months. Under no circumstances—I echo what has already been said—should these atrocities disrupt the continuing peace process in Northern Ireland and the move towards full devolution. I have two questions for the noble Baroness. First, will she confirm that any additional resources that are needed for this investigation will be given to the PSNI? Secondly, does she agree that the people of Antrim have sent a great message to those who carried out this barbaric act? By coming together in a quite remarkable and quiet dignity, they have shown that nothing will set the peace process back and that there is no appetite from the people of Northern Ireland to go back to the violence of the past.