Speeches by Benn.

“Fine. I have not responded to that letter.”

“I stand to be corrected, but I thought I had replied to Sir Iain Livingstone on the interim recommendations. I will double-check, because I remember seeing a letter. There is one outstanding issue relating to a separate letter that you sent me.”

“If and when the Brown case gets to the commission, that will be a job for the commission to undertake. What is unique about the case, and you are absolutely right, is that the coroner decided to produce a gist in open court. We have just had the hearing in the Thompson appeal about gists in the Supreme Court and we awa…”

“In the end, as I have just said to the Committee, we are not going to deal with legacy with a whole series of public inquiries. There is not a menu to be offered: “Would you like one of those, or one of those?” We are doing all this work to try and create a body capable of delivering justice for all, information for al…”

“I do not accept that. I have a simple policy as the Secretary of State: I am responsible for every decision that I take. I am given advice by a fantastic team of civil servants, who have worked so hard, not just on this case but in all the work in advising me on legacy. They are outstanding civil servants. If anyone wa…”

“There are the incompatibilities, clearly, which the courts in Northern Ireland have found. However, I have made it quite clear, including to the House of Commons, that the Government intend to remedy those because of course for the commission to work, it will have to be compliant with article 2 and other articles. It h…”

“I think we need to let the inquiry do its work and see what it finds and what report is published. One can speculate a great deal about what may or may not be in it. It has started its work. Today has been a very important day, as it has met to hear about the context of the bombing. We should note that. Let it do its w…”

“Well, we will agree to disagree on that.”

“No, I have said that it is a hypothetical question. I am not aware that that is their position currently. I would, with respect, reject the suggestion that the answer that I gave in relation to the memorandum of understanding is in some way shameful, because what information is the Irish Government going to provide? Wh…”

“I come back to my point. I do not see how you can have two different organisations investigating the same atrocity at the same time—genuinely. That is why there is a public inquiry and my predecessor, Chris Heaton-Harris, decided to announce it. I would say that the memorandum of understanding that has been reached bet…”

“That is a hypothetical question. There is not currently. The second point is that there is a public inquiry going on. I am not quite clear why that argument is being put. What would the commission be meant to do in relation to the Omagh bombing while a public inquiry was being undertaken into the Omagh bombing?”

“I am not aware that there is such unanimity.”

“We have started drafting. We need to get all the areas of policy agreed, and then everybody recognises the need to get the legislation published as quickly as possible—one reason, among many others, is that I am being asked, “What are you going to do?” It is a very complex process because, basically, this Government ar…”

“The Government have no plans to do that because that is the cut-off date to which we have been working. Obviously, we have the Omagh inquiry, which relates to the appalling, shocking murder of so many people after that date. We are not proposing to do that because there would then be other cases. People would say, “Can…”

“I do intend—I told the House of Commons this back in December—to change the disclosure arrangements, to make them more akin to what applies, say, in a public inquiry. That was the comment of the court in the Dillon judgment—it said it looks different. I am therefore looking at proposals to make it more akin so that tha…”

“The Government have a clear commitment to repealing and replacing the Legacy Act. It was in our manifesto and the King’s Speech. Of course, we are talking across Whitehall in implementing that policy. I have set out pretty clearly what I am seeking to do: first, through the remedial order, finally putting an end to imm…”

“Thank you for the letter that you wrote to me. When I read it and looked back at some of your evidence sessions on the legacy question, it very much reflects what I have heard in all the numerous meetings I have had with party leaders, victims and survivors’ groups, voluntary organisations, veterans and others. I have …”

“I am aware of nothing beyond what I have told the Committee.”

“I have no greater knowledge than you or the other members of the Committee. I was referring to a clip I saw of the First Minister and what has been reported in the newspapers. Chair, you began the line of questioning by saying that there had been a development over the weekend. Assuming that the reporting of £200 milli…”

“The police and the criminal justice system are very serious about catching people engaged in criminality. You require the evidence to be able to do that. It is not about one or the other; if people are engaging in criminality, they should be pursued and if the evidence can be found they should be prosecuted and subject…”