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Paramilitary-style Assaults
4. Mr Adrian Bailey (West Bromwich West) (Lab/Co-op): What efforts he is making to eradicate paramilitary-style assaults on the civilian population of Northern Ireland. [180483]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Mr. Ian Pearson): The police are doing all that they can to bring those responsible for these vicious assaults to justice, but it is not solely the responsibility of the Government to seek to bring these attacks to an end; it requires the support of the whole community. We continue to call on those with influence over the paramilitary groups to demand a complete cessation of these barbaric acts.
Mr. Bailey: I thank the Minister for his reply. The first report of the Independent Monitoring Commission stressed that everyone in Northern Ireland with a community responsibility had a duty to do everything in their power to end these attacks. Will my hon. Friend tell us what progress has been made on that front?
Mr. Pearson:
The Government are engaging with politicians and community leaders at all levels in an attempt to bring these barbaric acts to an end. In addition, the policy of community policing is being vigorously taken forward, the better to integrate police on the beat with their local communities and to build support and trust within those communities. It is
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important that we continue to do all this work with the police acting on the ground at community level and with the Government engaging with political and community leaders. We are quite clear that all paramilitary activity must cease, and that must be the clear objective of the intensive discussions that will take place in September.
Lembit Öpik (Montgomeryshire) (LD): One paramilitary-style assault that led to a conviction for murder was the killing by two Scots Guardsmen, Mark Wright and James Fisher, of Peter McBride in 1992. Is the Minister aware that my hon. Friend the Member for Brent, East (Sarah Teather), together with The Irish World and other media outlets, has sought to highlight the findings of the independent assessor for military complaints procedure, Jim McDonald, who criticised the readmission of Wright and Fisher to the armed forces? What assessment has the Minister made of Mr. McDonald's assessment?
Mr. Pearson: I admire the hon. Gentleman's ingenuity in asking that question. I have not yet had a chance to read that report, but this is essentially a matter for the Ministry of Defence, and I shall bring it to that Department's attention.
Mr. Seamus Mallon (Newry and Armagh) (SDLP): The Minister will be aware that in the past three weeks, two of my constituents were beaten almost to death, one by loyalist paramilitary groupings, the other by republican groupings. Does the Minister agree that this type of cudgel policing in parts of Northern Ireland is being used by paramilitary groups to gain a stranglehold? Will the Government again make it clear, along with the Irish Government, that any political grouping that continues to associate with illegal armies has no place in the legitimate political process?
Mr. Pearson: I agree with my hon. Friend. These paramilitary-style attacks—so-called punishment beatings—are completely unacceptable. I totally reject the term "punishment beatings" which is sometimes used, because it gives a spurious respectability to the activity and hides the level of violence that is taking place in Northern Ireland today. People are being crippled, made limbless or becoming brain damaged as a result of these attacks. They must cease, and we must call on all responsible politicians in Northern Ireland to ensure that that happens.
Mr. Desmond Swayne (New Forest, West) (Con): The Minister was quite right to stress the importance of policing as a response to paramilitary assaults. However, the number of officers who have left the part-time reserve since June 2000 has been 313, while only 108 have joined. How can he therefore contemplate dispensing with the services of the full-time reserve?
Mr. Pearson:
The Chief Constable will review the issue of the full-time reserve and produce recommendations in the autumn. The policing budget in Northern Ireland this year is some £726 million. I believe that we have a reforming and totally transformed police service in Northern Ireland that is doing an effective job at community level and in tackling paramilitary activity wherever it occurs, and I am sure that it will continue to do so.
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Devolved Government
5. Helen Jackson (Sheffield, Hillsborough) (Lab): What recent assessment he has made of the prospects for the reinstatement of devolved government in Northern Ireland. [180484]
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Mr. Paul Murphy): As the Prime Minister said on Friday, it is time to complete the negotiations with a conclusive agreement or find another way forward. The Prime Minister made it clear that there will be intensive talks in early September. Our position is clear—we need to see an end now to all forms of paramilitary activity, and it is imperative that we restore as soon as possible a stable and inclusive partnership government in Northern Ireland.
Helen Jackson: I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer. When we were in Northern Ireland recently, it was trade unions, business and community organisations that urged us most strongly towards an early reinstatement of devolution in Northern Ireland. That was not a criticism of him or his fellow Ministers but a desire for an early return to normality. What chance has he had to discuss the issue closely with those organisations, to enable them to make their voices heard?
Mr. Murphy: My hon. Friend is right. Last week, I talked to the Irish TUC, its general secretary and president, and to the CBI and other business leaders. It is important that civil society in Northern Ireland recognise the accessibility of devolution and local administration. We want a swift end to the present situation of direct rule and the restoration of the Assembly and the Executive. It is also worth reminding the House that all political parties in Northern Ireland also want an end to direct rule and the restoration of devolution as soon as possible.
Mr. David Trimble (Upper Bann) (UUP): I welcome the fact that the Government are finally planning in the autumn to have a series of intensive discussions, which, unfortunately, are much postponed. Will the Secretary of State make it clear, however, that that is not just yet another target but that it really is a deadline, and that the Government will stick to this—[Interruption.]
Mr. Speaker: Order. Perhaps we could have some quiet in the Chamber.
Mr. Trimble: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Secretary of State make it clear that this really is a deadline and not just another disposable target, and that if the deadline is not met, there will be firm action by the Government to make it clear to the parties that have been dragging their feet over the past couple of years that the Government will move on, close down the Assembly and put in place alternative arrangements?
Mr. Murphy:
I understand that there are other attractions besides me in the Chamber this morning. The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that both the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach said on Friday that these talks in September must decide the issues that
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are in front of us. We cannot go on for ever in this way. In answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Hillsborough (Helen Jackson), who said rightly that there is an appetite for devolution in Northern Ireland to return, we understand the issues that must be dealt with when we return in September. The right hon. Gentleman is right that we must decide them then.
Mr. Stephen Pound (Ealing, North) (Lab): As one whose head feels even more naked than usual today, may I ask my right hon. Friend whether he was as intrigued as I was to read in this morning's paper that the hon. Member for East Londonderry (Mr. Campbell) has stated that the Democratic Unionist party will enter into talks with Sinn Fein towards a devolved government when Tim Henman wins the men's singles at Wimbledon? May I ask my right hon. Friend, whose skills and abilities are widely respected in this House, whether he can offer us any hope that this happy event may come about? While we are cheered that at least the DUP is talking about talking about talks, we may, at the end of the day, yet again be cheated by the Swiss.
Mr. Murphy: I have always believed that international involvement in the Northern Ireland peace process is important, but that is a rather roundabout way of getting to it.
As my hon. Friend says, the parties must engage with each other in the talks. I believe that the DUP is serious in wanting an end to direct rule and the restoration of the Assembly and the Executive; but like other parties in Northern Ireland, it wants an end to paramilitary activity first.
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