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Northern Ireland

With permission, I would like to make a statement about the horrific attack last Saturday at Massereene Army base in Antrim. The focus for that sickening crime was civilians and young soldiers of 38 Engineer Regiment, part of 19 Light Brigade. The House will know that Operation Banner—the deployment of troops in Northern Ireland—was brought to an end in July 2007. 38 Engineer Regiment is part of the Northern Ireland garrison. Those men and women are part of the new arrangements in which soldiers are based in Northern Ireland for deployment anywhere in the world. The arrangements are not about a garrison to replace Operation Banner. Those soldiers were in the process of being deployed for active service in Afghanistan, to support international efforts to stabilise and bring peace to that region. At the time of the attack, most of their colleagues had already left for that deployment. A small number remained, awaiting their deployment to begin within hours. While waiting, a small number of soldiers decided to order food from Domino's Pizza in Antrim. At about 9.40 in the evening, the delivery arrived in two separate cars. The soldiers came out of the main gate of the barracks—the cars delivering the pizzas were parked less than 10 yd away—and as they did so, two masked gunmen opened fire. The initial volley of shots was followed by a second. The attackers were clearly intent on killing both the soldiers and the civilians. They continued firing even when the men were injured and when some had fallen to the ground. The firing lasted for more than 30 seconds. More than 60 shots were fired. Neither the soldiers nor the civilians had a chance against that premeditated attempt at mass murder. Two of the soldiers were killed. The families were informed yesterday, and this morning the Ministry of Defence released their names. Sapper Patrick Azimkar and Sapper Mark Quinsey were held in the highest regard by everyone in their regiment. Patrick Azimkar was just 21. He was looking forward to facing the challenges of his first operational tour in southern Helmand. Mark Quinsey, who was 23, was equally looking to the operational challenges he would face in Afghanistan. Two more soldiers were seriously injured. The attack on the civilians from the pizza company was just as barbaric. Both were injured, one extremely seriously. There can be no doubt that those responsible were intent on taking the lives of all these men. I know that the House will want to join me in expressing our deepest condolences to the families of those who were murdered, and to send our sympathy to the injured and all the families who are also victims of this act of terrible violence, which has rightly been described as evil. Immediately after the attack, fellow soldiers from 38 Engineer Regiment went to the aid of their friends. They tended the wounded and cared for the dying. I had the honour of meeting some of those young men and women immediately after the attack yesterday morning. This morning my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister flew to Northern Ireland, and with him I again met that group of outstanding young soldiers. Let me put on the record the admiration that we all have for those young men and women. They are the greatest credit to our country, and I know that I speak for the whole House in saying how proud of them we are. It is now the job of the Police Service of Northern Ireland to conduct the investigation to bring those who murdered and injured these soldiers and civilians to justice. A major investigation is under way. This morning both the Prime Minister and I had further briefings from the Chief Constable, Sir Hugh Orde, from our intelligence advisers, and from Brigadier George Norton, commander of 38 (Irish) Brigade and the Northern Ireland garrison. The House will wish to know that everything is being done that can be done. It is too early for me to report on the progress of the criminal investigation. However, I should tell the House that yesterday evening the so-called Real IRA claimed responsibility for this act of extreme barbarism. Whatever self-styled name these murderers choose to use, the House will correctly recognise them as barbaric criminals prepared to carry out an act of pre-meditated mass murder—callously murdering innocent people going about their daily business. They are simply brutal and cowardly killers. It is true that the number of people who make up these criminal groups are relatively few, but they are no less dangerous for their small numbers. We know that they have no community support whatsoever, but their guns are able to murder. The police have asked for everyone in the community who has information to come forward, and they should do so as a matter of urgency. Anyone in the Antrim area or beyond on Saturday who may have seen anything suspicious, in the vicinity of Domino's or on the Randalstown road close to Massereene Barracks, should contact the police. The House will want to know that all political leaders and political parties in Northern Ireland have condemned this evil act. They are united not only in their condemnation and in their expressions of condolence to the families, but in their demand that anyone who can help should come forward. They join in those expressions with my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and all the party leaders in this House, and they join today in a statement from all the Churches in Northern Ireland condemning the violence and asking those who can help the police to come forward. It is right for me also to record the expressions of support and sympathy that we immediately received from the Taoiseach and President McAleese, from the United States Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, and from President Obama, who last night made his position very clear, condemning the attack in the strongest terms and making clear his support for the people of Northern Ireland—those people who have chosen a future of peace. It may be helpful if I take this opportunity to provide the House with further information about the current levels of security threat in Northern Ireland. As the House will know, both the Chief Constable and I have made public our view that the level of threat posed by dissident republicans has recently been higher than at any time in the last six years. Since 2008 they have mounted 18 attacks, 15 last year and three so far this year. The House will be aware that last week the Security Service raised the level of threat from Irish-related terrorism from substantial to severe in Northern Ireland. That was a carefully calibrated decision, based on an overall assessment of the last nine months. That period includes the attempted murder of police officers, including one savage attack on a police officer who had just dropped his child at school. Five bullets were put into the man's chest. There was some uncertainty last week about the wisdom of raising the threat level. I believe this was the right decision and entirely justified. Policing in Northern Ireland enjoys the highest levels of confidence from the public. In my judgment, it is absolutely essential that the Chief Constable has operational independence. Of course, he is accountable to the Policing Board under the Patten arrangements. He will, if he sees fit, enjoy the same rights as any other chief constable in the UK to request further technical back-up, if so needed; that would be the case in, say, a chief constable dealing with a threat from al-Qaeda and any international terrorism. Indeed, we made that clear at the end of Operation Banner. In a statement to this House on 31 July 2007, the Minister of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Coventry, North-East (Mr. Ainsworth), said that after 1 August the vast majority of military support in Northern Ireland will be broadly comparable to the assistance that is currently provided in Great Britain, but tailored for the particular circumstances in Northern Ireland. He also made it clear that the provision of explosive ordnance disposal would continue; this was, of course, used to deal with the car bomb in Castlewellan in January of this year. I hope that, whatever concerns may have been expressed by hon. Members last week—and it may be appropriate to comment on the serious distortions and misleading reports in some of the media at that time—hon. Members will now feel reassured about the role of any technical support being used to tackle the current threat. This is, as the Chief Constable has repeatedly said, not about the return of troops to the streets, but it is about protecting the public at a proportionate level, and about protecting those who provide that protection, such as police officers and those who work to protect the international community or on international theatre operations. It has been 12 years since the last death of a soldier in Northern Ireland, and this has been a very dark few days for Northern Ireland, but it is a temporary darkness at the end of a tunnel of considerable light. The peace process and political progress, as part of shared power, have transformed Northern Ireland. The perpetrators of this attack believe they can stall the progress and, in stalling the progress, instil seeds of self-destruction in the politics of today. Indeed, they have clearly chosen to act in this evil way only because the politics of a shared future is working. The determination and resolve of all political leaders in the face of this brutal act are working proof of a unity of purpose. We are all united in our resolve that these criminals will not succeed. Our confidence must be stronger, our resolve even greater; and while the House will understandably be sombre as a result of this murderous attack, the greatest memorial to Patrick Azimkar and Mark Quinsey and their families will be in our determination to unite behind the peace process and the political progress in Northern Ireland. So let us make sure that those responsible for this attack are not given any opportunity to stall or prevent the progress of the people of Northern Ireland. Let us join together, and let this House send this afternoon an unequivocal message: the men of violence will not succeed; these criminals will not succeed—not now, not ever.