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Mr. Peter Robinson (Belfast, East): I welcome the commitment that the Prime Minister has expressed to an
elective process, not least because that proposal was put to him several years ago by my party. I also welcome the fact that the Prime Minister has been able to persuade others who were against that process to come round to supporting it. May I also express a willingness, on behalf of my party, to take part in the intensive consultations, which he mentioned, especially to determine the means by which such negotiations shall take place?
Will the Prime Minister recognise that my party, like the Ulster Unionist party, would be prepared to negotiate only with legitimate political parties? Will the Prime Minister review the remarks he made earlier, when he said that he hoped that the ceasefire could be re-established on the same basis as before? Surely that is precisely what we do not want. We want a permanent ceasefire, not a temporary, tactical cessation of violence.
The Prime Minister:
I had in mind the same basis as before, but this time without the word being broken as it was before. I think the basis on which the ceasefire was promised before was acceptable. What went wrong was that that promise was blatantly broken by the bombs. I wish to make it clear that a temporary and convenient ceasefire for a short period is not being suggested.
I am grateful for what the hon. Gentleman had to say about the elective process. I confirm that the Democratic Unionist party suggested that proposition some time ago, as did the Ulster Unionist party. I am also grateful to hear that the hon. Gentleman will take part in the intensive consultations on the means of the election. I hope that, as a result of those consultations, we will be able to reach a situation that will enable us to bring forward, with agreement, the legislation on the nature of the election not later than the moment that we return from the Easter recess, and, if possible, even earlier.
Mr. Robert McCartney (North Down):
Will the Prime Minister confirm, for the benefit of those hon. Members and the public in the present complex situation, that in no circumstances will Sinn Fein be admitted to substantive negotiations unless it conforms to two prior requirements: first, that it acknowledges the fundamental democratic procedure of consent; secondly, that it accepts the Mitchell principles? Both those considerations have already received the endorsement of constitutional nationalists.
Will the Prime Minister confirm that the present peace process is based essentially on a ceasefire controlled entirely by terrorists and not by politicians? Will he explain how, following any renewal of such terrorism or any cessation of the present terrorism which is then renewed, he will deal with the enforcement of democratic procedures?
The Prime Minister:
Since the terrorism recommenced, we have reviewed the security provisions with great care. The hon. and learned Gentleman will know from the evidence seen with his own eyes in his constituency of some of the measures that have been taken. He will also know that it would not be appropriate for me to discuss at the Dispatch Box some of the measures that have been taken.
I can tell the hon. and learned Gentleman and the House that we have looked in the greatest detail at what needs to be done to protect the normal democratic way of life
of people in Northern Ireland as a result of the renewal of terrorism. Were there to be a ceasefire, and were it to be broken again in the hypothesis advanced by the hon. and learned Gentleman, again we would re-examine whatever further needed to be done. If more needed to be done on any occasion, it would be in our minds to take the action that we judged was right to deal with it. That has been our position for many years.
I believe that, for a long time, the terrorists operated on the basis that, if they continued with their terror, the time would come when one British Government or another would tire of the cost and effort of policing and having the Army in Northern Ireland, and would bow to their demands. After 25 years, they learned that that was not the case, and, were the terrorism to continue for another 25 years, it would not be the case. That is the strongest assurance on that point that I can give the hon. and learned Gentleman or anyone else.
On the earlier part of the hon. and learned Gentleman's question, the Mitchell principles embrace implicitly the points that he had in mind, and they will be dealt with at the outset of the negotiations.
Mr. Terry Dicks (Hayes and Harlington):
Since it seems to me that the terrorists have been able to bomb themselves into the peace process thus far, can my right hon. Friend assure me, from his discussions today, that, no matter what they do in the future, it will stop there? The likes of Adams, McGuinness and Kelly are all terrorists. I do not accept the distinction between Sinn Fein and the IRA--they are all the same evil people. Can my right hon. Friend assure me that those people will not be contacting officials in this Government, and will not be contacting him or any other Ministers?
The Prime Minister:
They cannot bomb themselves into the peace process. They have certainly bombed themselves out of the peace process, and they will keep themselves out of that process if they continue to use bombs. I have made it clear that the process will continue without them if there is a campaign of violence. The announcement that I have made today is in line with the discussions that we have had and the announcements that I have made to the House in the past before the campaign of violence recommenced.
What would have been a success for the bombers would be if we had been driven off the route down which we were going as a result of the return to bombing, and we expressly have not been. They are expressly on notice that the process is on track and continuing. They have an option to take part in that process, and they have the certainty that, if they do not put themselves in a circumstance in which they can take part, the process will continue without them. They can bomb themselves out of the process: they cannot bomb themselves into it.
Mr. Kevin McNamara (Kingston upon Hull, North):
I join in the congratulations to the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach on what they have achieved today. I congratulate the Prime Minister particularly on the sternness of his approach in ensuring that, if the parties cannot agree on a system of elections, the Government will impose a system upon them in order to ensure that they proceed.
What consideration has the Prime Minister given to the idea of a referendum? A referendum throughout the whole of Ireland would be of the utmost importance, because it
would knock away the spurious theology of Sinn Fein that it owes its spurious legitimacy to the fact that it claims descent from the last time that there were democratic elections throughout the whole of Ireland. If the people of Ireland as a whole spoke in a referendum, that would remove the last vestiges of strange legitimacy that Sinn Fein can claim.
The Prime Minister:
I do not propose to impose a system of elections on anyone. I will lay before the House what I believe is the right system, and I will invite the House to support me. I emphasise that I will need the support of the House, and I may need that support where there is no unanimity among the parties. I will bring forward a proposition for the House to consider.
I must tell the House that I can be concerned only with a referendum held in Northern Ireland. The Irish Government may decide to hold a parallel referendum in the south, but my responsibility would be for a referendum in the north. We are looking at whether that would be appropriate, and, if so, what the question might be. It clearly has to be a relevant question and one where there would be some net advantage in placing it before the people, most obviously on the date of the elections themselves.
I can think of a number of examples of what the question might be, and other hon. Members will have their own views. We will discuss it with the political parties. I am not yet convinced that that is the route down which we will go, but I am prepared to go down that route if there seems to be a will for it, and some advantage to be gained from it.
Mr. David Wilshire (Spelthorne):
I congratulate my right hon. Friend on his refusal to be bombed out of calling elections. What more can he say to the House to persuade me that the rest of the communique is not selling out to the men of violence? Can my right hon. Friend confirm that I am right to judge, after considering the communique, that we have yet again changed our stance on the requirements for decommissioning?
On the triple lock, can my right hon. Friend tell the House whether Sinn Fein-IRA accepted the right of the people of Northern Ireland to settle their own future, because I have never heard Sinn Fein-IRA say so? If it will not, is that not a reason why it should not be allowed into the talks?
The Prime Minister:
If my hon. Friend will look again at the communique, I do not think that he will sustain the charge that we have changed our stance. Our view on the matter has been clear cut. I do not think that it is correct for my hon. Friend to suggest that the Government are selling out to anyone, let alone the men of violence. It seems an odd way of selling out to someone to make it absolutely clear to them that, unless they give up their present pattern, they will be excluded from the talks, but that the talks will continue among the democratic political parties, and that their exclusion will be because of their actions in the weeks and months ahead.
Let me tell my hon. Friend and everybody else that I am anxious to try to create a circumstance in which there can generally be an agreement that will prevent the
campaigns of violence and bloodshed that we have seen for so long. It is true that I could stay in a trench and set up a hundred good reasons for doing nothing. I believe that, were I to do that, my successors would be standing here in 50 years' time in the same trench.
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