Speeches by Benn.

“I am wholly opposed to the rewriting of history. When I recently visited the wonderful exhibition on the Troubles at the Ulster Museum, there was a phrase in one of the panels that came out and struck me. It says, “We have a shared past, but we do not have a shared memory”. I thought that was really a very good way of …”

“I am certainly looking to change the name of the commission, which is one of the points that have been put to you in the evidence that you have taken. I accept that argument. It is not the primary focus. If the commission does its job successfully, it will assist the process, but its work does not have a particular rec…”

“I read in the evidence you have taken that there are those who have said, “Is there going to be a proper legal definition?” I do not see how legislation can define what reconciliation is. Indeed, when I met a man whose brother had been murdered in the most brutal circumstances, he said to me, “How can there be legislat…”

“I can only respond to that by saying I want the maximum possible disclosure to enable families to find answers, but there are considerations of national security. There is no running away from those. All Governments have an obligation to give very serious weight in deciding ultimately what is disclosed. That is what ha…”

“No, it is not a veto because it can be challenged by way of judicial review, just like any other decision of a Government Minister or a public body. If it can be challenged in the courts, ultimately it is the courts that decide.”

“First, as I have already pointed out, the commission gets full, unredacted disclosure. Secondly, we will amend the regime to ensure that it is consistent with other established mechanisms, which would seem to me to meet the issue that the Court of Appeal raised. There are wider issues to do with the court judgment that…”

“I completely understand the frustration, the pain and the suffering of those families—I have met a number of them, including the Brown family—in still not knowing answers after all of these years. There is a particular reason why we are appealing in the case of the terrible murder of Sean Brown. The issue of principle,…”

“I would say this. First of all, the Government’s policy is that we want the maximum disclosure to provide answers consistent with national security. Secondly, Government Ministers have a responsibility for national security. They are set out quite clearly. They are ones that I take extremely seriously. Thirdly, in the …”

“I cannot. They were his words; they were not mine. As you say, he walked them back the following day. It comes back to the point that I made earlier. It is not helpful to focus on individuals. There has been a difference of view about how PII should be approached between the Government and the chief constable, but I do…”

“As I understand it, on the particular facts of that case, the court decided it was an abuse of process. We can all read the judgment and see the circumstances of that particular case. To the argument that has been made, including in the Westminster Hall debate, that on-the-run letters, letters of comfort or whatever yo…”

“To be clear, having no need to travel would relate to inquests or hearings of the commission. If I may, you have raised a number of points in putting that question. Let us go back to the start. In the case of Mr Downey—this is a matter of public record—the court reached its verdict in relation to the Hyde Park bombing,…”

“No, it is not.”

“Yes, I have already said that to the Committee.”

“It does matter, yes.”

“The Government’s approach includes support that we are going to provide veterans. Some 250,000 people served in Operation Banner with great distinction in the most difficult circumstances. A large number of them were killed. They were there to try to keep people safe. You are right. The Clonoe inquest verdict in partic…”

“I absolutely understand the concerns that the veterans have. First of all, they were offered immunity that was never going to be capable of being delivered. It was never commenced by the last Government, despite their having put it in the legacy Act. It was then found to be incompatible with our human rights obligation…”

“I recognise the pressures on all Governments in the current circumstances all around the world. Northern Ireland receives 24% additional funding compared to England. It is slightly above 24%. That is a record settlement for a three-year spending review. In a separate context, I have always said that all Governments als…”

“Funding had already been identified within Northern Ireland for those cases. I grant you that funding had not been identified in relation to the 20 that the Attorney General for Northern Ireland referred in just before the deadline when the portcullis came down. What happens to those will be subject to the process, whi…”

“The first thing I would say is that funding was identified—that is my clear understanding—within the Northern Ireland Executive for the five-year programme. Has that been taken away? The funding was identified from within Northern Ireland’s resources, and therefore I would presume it is still available for the cases th…”

“When the five-year plan was put in place by Declan Morgan before he became involved in leading ICRIR, funding was identified for those inquests. If funding was identified for those inquests, it is there. Going back to Mr Robertson’s question, how it will pan out in respect of the other inquests depends on the outcome o…”