Speeches by Robinson.

“Well, you say “personally”; I assume you are here representing the Home Office. Let’s go for a collective view first, and then if there is anything you want to add personally, we can certainly hear it.”

“Good morning, gentlemen. Mr Summers, you will have heard some of the exchanges about the porous nature of the border in Northern Ireland and the challenges that that presents to you and Home Office colleagues. We are aware of a facility in Belfast. Those of us who travel from Northern Ireland to London on a weekly basi…”

“I visited your team that is embedded with the Paramilitary Crime Task Force, and I have spoken with them, and shared my frustrations at times, too. There are question marks over the continuation of the taskforce to tackle paramilitarism. What damage do you think it would cause if the NCA was no longer routinely engaged…”

“As an elected representative for 16 years, I can tell you that the big boys in my area—the paramilitaries in my area—who were big when I started in elected in life are still big today, unencumbered by any threats, contamination or interruption from the National Crime Agency. My constituents often ask why that is, but I…”

“I have some figures here from 2024-25, which are the most recently published figures I could find. According to them, there were 140 disruptions in Northern Ireland over a six-month period, compared with 37 in the period before, so that is an increase. The high-impact disruptions decreased from 11 to 6. If we take the …”

“Are those two different things?”

“Let me stop you there, because I want to pursue what you said. You have been operating on the island of Ireland as one unit. I know you are with PSNI in Northern Ireland, which is a part of the United Kingdom. I also know that you have something in the region of 170 international liaison officers—I assume they are not …”

“Can you set out your agency’s role and remit within Northern Ireland, and particularly your relationship with the Police Service of Northern Ireland?”

“Thank you. Gentlemen, I do not know who wishes to speak for the NCA. Mr Jones, you are the main man in the middle.”

“I will give you an example as a Member of Parliament. Claire Hanna and I, both representing Belfast constituencies, spend a lot of time working with and supporting the Belfast Central Mission, which supports individuals who are subject to immigration controls. One famous example was of a lady—I will not name her, but I…”

“Do you think our border controls are too lax?”

“Well, you say “personally”; I assume you are here representing the Home Office. Let’s go for a collective view first, and then if there is anything you want to add personally, we can certainly hear it.”

“Good morning, gentlemen. Mr Summers, you will have heard some of the exchanges about the porous nature of the border in Northern Ireland and the challenges that that presents to you and Home Office colleagues. We are aware of a facility in Belfast. Those of us who travel from Northern Ireland to London on a weekly basi…”

“I visited your team that is embedded with the Paramilitary Crime Task Force, and I have spoken with them, and shared my frustrations at times, too. There are question marks over the continuation of the taskforce to tackle paramilitarism. What damage do you think it would cause if the NCA was no longer routinely engaged…”

“As an elected representative for 16 years, I can tell you that the big boys in my area—the paramilitaries in my area—who were big when I started in elected in life are still big today, unencumbered by any threats, contamination or interruption from the National Crime Agency. My constituents often ask why that is, but I…”

“I have some figures here from 2024-25, which are the most recently published figures I could find. According to them, there were 140 disruptions in Northern Ireland over a six-month period, compared with 37 in the period before, so that is an increase. The high-impact disruptions decreased from 11 to 6. If we take the …”

“Are those two different things?”

“Let me stop you there, because I want to pursue what you said. You have been operating on the island of Ireland as one unit. I know you are with PSNI in Northern Ireland, which is a part of the United Kingdom. I also know that you have something in the region of 170 international liaison officers—I assume they are not …”

“Can you set out your agency’s role and remit within Northern Ireland, and particularly your relationship with the Police Service of Northern Ireland?”

“Thank you. Gentlemen, I do not know who wishes to speak for the NCA. Mr Jones, you are the main man in the middle.”