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Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Murphy of Torfaen (Labour). It was answered on Thursday, 14 July 2022.

Northern Ireland: Operation Kenova

Question

I very much agree with my noble friend Lord Hain, about learning from the processes of Operation Kenova. Since, as the Minister knows, every victims’ group in Northern Ireland, the Irish Government and every single political party in Northern Ireland disagrees with the Bill, is it not time to go back to the new Secretary of State, rethink the Bill, or preferably abandon it altogether?

Answer

I appreciate the spirit in which the noble Lord, another distinguished former Secretary of State, makes his point. As he will know from his time in office, finding consensus around legacy and the past is incredibly difficult and has eluded successive Governments. I was intimately involved in the Stormont

House negotiations in 2014, when we thought we had reached some kind of agreement. That subsequently unravelled in the following years. These are very difficult matters but, as I said in response to a previous question, I am very happy to meet victims’ groups, political parties, the Irish Government and Members of your Lordships’ House to see if there are ways in which the Bill can be improved.

Secondary information

Type
Oral question
Reference
823 c1575 
Session
2022-23
Oral question type
Supplementary
Chamber / Committee
House of Lords chamber
Subjects
Criminal investigation Northern Ireland Terrorism Operation Kenova
Link
View this Oral question on hansard.parliament.uk