NI fugitive bill faces emotional opposition
Plans to allow terrorist suspects back to Northern Ireland without facing jail passed their first test in the House of Commons yesterday.
MPs voted 310 to 262 to give the Northern Ireland (offences) bill its second reading, but impassioned opposition from all sides suggests the legislation will not get through without significant amendments.
Under the proposals, so-called ‘on the runs’ could return to the province and come before a special tribunal. Even if found guilty, they would be set free on license, although if they broke this, they would be subject to a jail term.
Unionists, the SDLP, Conservatives and the Lib Dems are all opposed to the bill, which they argue gives an amnesty to terror suspects, and insults their victims.
Nigel Dodds, Democratic Unionist party (DUP) MP for North Belfast, described the legislation as “obnoxious”, “offensive” and “nauseating”, while former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said it was “grubby, reprehensible, and one step too far”.
DUP leader Ian Paisley said the bill would do nothing to help the families of the 202 policemen murdered in Northern Ireland, asking: ” How does the secretary of state believe that the bill, which wipes the stone clear, will ever close what is in the hearts, minds and souls of those people?”
However, while Northern Ireland secretary Peter Hain said he recognised the “strong feelings” over the issue, he insisted it was a necessary part of the peace process in the province in the wake of the IRA’s renunciation of violence this summer.
“I would not presume for one second to tell any victim that they must draw a line under the past. I cannot, and would not, tell anyone who has suffered such a unique and personal loss that they must close a door on their pain and move on,” he said.
“There are times, however, when a government must take a view on the best way for society as a whole to move on, so as to get closure on the past, difficult as that may be. This is one such time.”
He said that the bill should offer “some comfort” to victims in that it would force ‘on the runs’ to come before some kind of judicial process, and would give them a criminal record.
“All I would say is that, at the moment, the people whom the bill covers are on the run, outside UK jurisdiction. There is the prospect-no more but no less-of bringing them into UK jurisdiction and putting them through a process of justice,” he told MPs.
The 1998 Good Friday agreement included provisions for the early release of prisoners convicted before that date, and the new bill aims to correct the “anomaly” of those people suspected of crimes before then but not yet convicted.
Sinn Fein has broadly welcomed the bill, but raised concerns that British soldiers were covered under the proposals. Leader Gerry Adams said this was an attempt to “conceal the truth” about the activities of troops in Northern Ireland.
The inclusion of soldiers was also condemned by the Conservatives, although from the other side – shadow Northern Ireland secretary said it treats members of the armed forces and police “on a par with terrorists”.
Mr Hain explained that he wanted to give members of the security forces the “choice of availing themselves of the special procedure”. If they were charged as a result, that was right.
“I felt that it would discriminate against them in comparison with the IRA or loyalist terrorists to deny them the opportunity of taking advantage of the provisions,” he said.
