Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Bill

I think that the whole House welcomes the improvements in the security situation in Northern Ireland, which have made it possible for the Government to present the Bill today. The most recent summary was in the Independent Monitoring Commission’s 12th report in October this year. It stated that the commission no longer believed that the Provisional IRA was engaged in terrorism, and also stated"““We do not believe that PIRA is undertaking terrorist-type training””." The commission argued that the Provisional IRA had disbanded some of its key military structures, and that there had been a further erosion of its capacity to return to violence were it to wish ever to do so. However, the IMC went on to identify continuing threats from other terrorist groups, which in my view do justify the retention of certain special powers for the limited circumstances described by the Secretary of State. It concluded that the Real IRA"““remains active and dangerous and that it continues to seek to sustain its position as a terrorist organisation.””" It also concluded that the Continuity IRA"““remains an active and dangerous threat””." As for the loyalists, anyone who thumbs through the pages of the main Northern Ireland newspapers knows that their campaigns of criminal violence continue. The IMC stated that the UDA was still involved in violence and had"““a heavy involvement in crime””," and described the Ulster Volunteer Force as ““active, violent and ruthless””. It is in the context set out by the IMC that the House must assess the need for changes in the law and the continuing need for certain extraordinary procedures in our criminal justice system. I believe that the Bill marks a significant shift away from the emergency powers legislation which Parliament, under successive Governments, has renewed for many years—indeed, for several decades.