Speeches by Benn.

“Would you like to comment on that?”

“I did say, “Fine”. In which case, on the basis of what I have just said to you, Dr Pinkerton, it would seem reasonably sensible to say, “The commission can see a connection there. Can we make that connection ourselves?” We are still reflecting on precisely how that might work. It is very much a demand-led model, and th…”

“I said, “Fine”—I hope I said, “Fine”.”

“We are thinking about that. I think that I am right in saying that one of the requests I received was to say, “We would like to link this investigation to another investigation”. Have I got that right?”

“I certainly have thought about it, because it seems a roundabout route. I get a letter saying, “We would like this to be investigated but we cannot post it direct to the commission so we are going to post it to you. Then you can put another stamp on it and post it on to the commission”. It does not seem very sensible t…”

“The first thing I would say is that information retrieval mechanisms should be available to anyone who wants to come forward and provide information for families. That is important. The presumption is that it will be non-state actors who will be making use of it, but that may not be the case in all circumstances. Secon…”

“That was the basis on which Stormont House was agreed. It is the basis of the ICLVR, which has succeeded in recovering the remains of a number of people murdered and disappeared by the IRA and buried. It is searching again, I think I am right in saying, as we speak, for Columba McVeigh. His family and all the families …”

“Yes.”

“This is a very important question and there are two aspects to it. The commission has two functions. One is investigative, where it thinks there is a case that it can investigate, but it is also to provide information and answers for families. There is great benefit in having the two things together in the commission. …”

“You are asking me to presume what the Government’s decision would be after the Supreme Court judgment, which, though you kindly invite me to do so, I am not going to do before the Select Committee today. I have said to Sir Iain in my reply that the Government will return to this matter after the judgment.”

“Yes, it is a Government policy, but it is being queried in the Thompson case. I have no idea, of course, what the Supreme Court will say, but the Government’s view is that it would be sensible to have the benefit of that judgment before making a final decision in relation to the request that the Kenova inquiry made of …”

“NCND is absolutely at the heart of the Thompson case.”

“It may or it may not. That depends when the Supreme Court decides to deliver a judgment in the Thompson case, which is obviously not in my control. Even if Kenova has published, the Government are still able to reflect on the request that was made and make a decision once we have seen what the Thompson judgment has to …”

“I met Sir Iain Livingstone last week. Following up on the exchange we had about three months ago, I went away and checked that the letter to him responding to the recommendations has gone, and the letter in relation to his separate request referring to the naming of Stakeknife. I think I am right in saying that the let…”

“That is why I have said repeatedly that I have confidence in the leadership of the commission. I really do not think it helps to attack people on that basis, but the commission needs to have effective mechanisms for dealing with conflicts of interest, or apparent conflicts of interest. That is something that will be fo…”

“That is a judgment the commission would have to make in the circumstances. One of the tasks that we are all engaged in here is how to command greater confidence in precisely these legacy processes, given that there are a lot of people who do not have confidence in them at the moment.”

“As I have learned from the very beginning of dealing with this, lots of people say lots of things. They are not things that I have said. Indeed, I have said that I have confidence in the leadership of the commission. That is very important. People, of course, are entitled to their opinion. It is a mistake to focus on i…”

“As I indicated in answer to an earlier question, the oversight board that we are looking to establish will invite applications. Those can come from people from any jurisdiction with a wide range of experience. The appointments to those boards, one hopes, will offer the people you are referring to and who are asking the…”

“When I say that I have been listening very carefully in the very large number of meetings that I have had with a very wide group of people, I mean it. I have gone away and said, “On this point, this point and this point, what is the merit in doing something about that?” When the draft legislation is published, I hope t…”

“It is important to draw on all experience, including investigative experience as available. I would not support saying, “Just because you served in the RUC, you cannot have anything to do with investigations”. That, as I understand, is not the view of Sir Declan Morgan. I think that he was questioned on that by the Com…”