Speeches by Robinson.

“We know that the Bill does not use the word “veteran”.”

“Mr Johnstone, what is your view of the six new protections for veterans, and what is the view of your members? Do you believe it shows the Government clearly listening to veterans, as they say they are? Is that how veterans view these protections?”

“Not by me.”

“Nobody said that you had.”

“Do you mean disproportionately impacted in suffering the loss of a loved one?”

“Have you had the opportunity to think through the proposed process that would allow families to be consulted about the involvement of officers, and whether, if there is a relational disagreement or they cannot agree formally, that can be escalated to the oversight board? Have you had a chance to talk to victims about t…”

“Perceptions can be based on prejudice. As I think Ms Kilpatrick accepts, there are service personnel who are also victims. Mr McVey, you were not the commissioner for victims whenever the lines were blurred with prejudice and perception and how far people were able to pursue their prejudice to the exclusion of certain …”

“I am happy to. Mr Johnstone, do you believe that the changes from the Secretary of State to ensure that Legacy Commission staff do not have any conflict of interest are right or wrong? Do you believe that the steps to put on a statutory footing the conflict of interest policy that already existed is right or wrong? Do …”

“I disagree with that. I think that that is wrong, but I am not going to continue with it.”

“Two very quick questions, then. Because you believe that you were misrepresented in The Irish News particularly, have you taken steps to address that?”

“No, it goes beyond that, in fairness. I do not think it is worth—”

“It is about the inability, I think, to suggest that it is a notional conflict that was being considered, and yet specific words you used were about the individual and the role that the individual had because of his specific circumstances within his leadership responsibility.”

“Joe, you mentioned humanity. Ms Kilpatrick has given her view on conflicts of interest, and she has given a précis. She will know, in fairness, from our energetic conversation back in August that I do not agree with what she has shared this morning, but there is probably not much merit in parsing the course on that, al…”

“You should be embracing it; this is an important point.”

“All of you—the victims commissioner, the veterans commissioner, the commissioner of the Human Rights Commission—should be saying, “We should not be in this position.” Eighteen months after the Bill was published in Westminster, we still do not know how it works.”

“You are answering defensively, but it is not a question for you. I am asking the question; anyone on the panel can answer it. Why are we in the space of having to speculate when the details should be there? We should not have to guess what the process is.”

“It is not. We have legislation before us published in Westminster, which will become law.”

“Should we be in the realm of speculation? This is a genuine question for everyone. We have had 18 months of this Government: 18 months of a promise to repeal and replace; a large launch in September of a joint framework; and now a Legacy Bill—a Northern Ireland Troubles Bill—has been introduced, yet we are speculating.…”

“That is a point of distinction.”

“Your position is that there is no firewall—you do not move from one stage to the next, and that information can never go back to the first stage again.”