Northern Ireland Troubles (Criminal Investigations etc) Bill
03 Sep 2026 · Commons Chamber · 8 speeches · Official record
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I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. I am grateful to the sponsors of this snappily-titled Bill, who are the deputy Leader of the Opposition, my hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Alex Burghart); the shadow Defence Secretary, my hon. Friend the Member for South Suffolk (James Cartlidge); the shadow Justice Secretary, my hon. Friend the Member for West Suffolk (Nick Timothy); the shadow Housing Secretary, my hon. Friend the Member for Weald of Kent (Katie Lam); the... Full speech
Speaker
The debate stood adjourned (Standing Order No. 11(2)). Full speech
Speaker
Ordered, That the debate be resumed on Friday 11 September. Full speech
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that intervention. I know that there is support on the Government Benches as well-I just could not find it when I went out to get sponsors. There are many veterans on the Government Benches, and on the Liberal Democrat Benches, and there is a lot of support for this measure in the country. I hope that the Government will listen to that body of feeling. Why does the Bill matter, and why should it get the support of the House? It matters because of a very import... Full speech
I thank the hon. and gallant Member for Spelthorne (Lincoln Jopp) for the wonderful way in which he has introduced the Bill today and given us the opportunity to have this conversation. Like many hon. Members, I approach this debate with some significant degree of hesitation because of the weight of the issues we are discussing-the legacy of the troubles is one of those issues where every right hon. and hon. Member must begin with a significant degree of caution. We are discussing events that sc... Full speech
There is no moral equivalence in my book between men and women who served their nation in good faith and did a difficult job in a deadly environment, and what the terrorists did. It is worth pointing out, if any hon. Members are feeling queasy about my Bill, that one thing it is not is an amnesty. No one is looking for a free pass here. If, in the view of a Supreme Court judge, there is new, compelling evidence, by all means those cases should be reopened. But we cannot allow this never-ending n... Full speech
In essence, what my hon. Friend is doing, very ably, is to try to defend those who defended us. May I place on the record that, in that noble aim, from the Conservative Benches he has our wholehearted and undivided support? Full speech
May I first thank the hon. Member for his service in Northern Ireland, and extend those thanks to the thousands of servicemen who came to my part of the United Kingdom to defend democracy and to defend us all from terrorist forces? He mentions moral issues. Is not the greatest flaw in the Government’s Bill the moral equivalence that it creates between the terrorist who wakens up determined to kill and the law and order agent who wakens up determined to defend people from being killed? Full speech