Speeches by Robinson.

“Mr Pang, what engagement have you had with Government, either in Northern Ireland for the Road Haulage Association or yourselves here in London with Whitehall?”

“Are you saying that the announcement that was made last Tuesday was already there and it is, in real terms, less than what was there the previous year?”

“They are two separate things, but they are compatible.”

“Thank you. That is quite stark.”

“At the moment there is an issue around red diesel, which I raised with the Chancellor six weeks ago. Red diesel can be used agriculturally off road, and I think with the ability to travel on road for about 15 miles. I was told that the reality of that is that, for contractors moving from field to field to assist with s…”

“That brings me to a point I think you were trying to open up earlier, which is what Government can do and the outlier impact. You say “outlier”; a number of European countries have brought forward support packages, for example. Hauliers have been the beneficiary. Agriculture has been a beneficiary of that. Consumers ha…”

“The Prime Minister knows he is the main character in an ongoing national scandal. Given all the blame apportioned in his statement, it is incredible that only one person has lost their position. Does the Prime Minister also recognise that it is incredible to learn that in Northern Ireland a political appointment was ma…”

“I will support the hon. Gentleman’s request for us to back the amendment and not disagree with it, as the Government have asked, although I could easily be convinced that Governments should be making these decisions themselves, rather than Parliament making decisions on proscription or otherwise. Does he think that in …”

“Just at the end of January, so three weeks.”

“Brendan, you might have to give a precis as to what actually happened—Simon Byrne and Ormeau Road and so on—because I am not sure there is awareness.”

“When was that?”

“This is an important thread. One of the reasons for pushing back earlier is that it is important that we identify where the problems lie. My support for policing is almost unconscious. For people from my community, for Ulster Unionist people and Alliance too, it is unconscious. The SDLP, in many ways, has shown extraor…”

“When do you think you understood that to be the case?”

“Has every leader met you since you asked to see them at the start of the year?”

“Does that not crystalise how there is no political dominance? Within a board of that nature, you will find people grouping together, agreeing with one another, disagreeing and then building a coherent consensus.”

“How long has that been the case?”

“Is it scheduled?”

“That is not right. We are going to come back to this question later in this session, but that is not right. It is right in part, but I am not going to take any criticism of our support for policing, because you know exactly where we stand.”

“The board has too. Do the officials have a draft to the Minister?”

“Yes, but it is not a case of “found wanting”. Finally from me, do you have a sense of comparative figures for England and Wales? Do you know that the Treasury is likely to indicate that, while Northern Ireland is funded at £1.24 for every £1 per head spent in England, for policing in Northern Ireland it is £1.60 or 60%…”