Tag: Louise Haigh

The speech made by Louise Haigh, the Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, in the House of Commons on 13 May 2021.

I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of his statement.

As the Secretary of State has outlined, in five separate shootings across three days in August 1971 in the Ballymurphy estate in west Belfast, 10 innocent civilians were shot dead, nine by the armed forces, with evidence unable conclusively to determine in the tenth case. Among them were a priest, a mother of eight and a former soldier who had fought and was injured in world war two. Fifty-seven children were left without a parent—their lives for ever changed. Yet the trauma of the murders was undoubtedly compounded by what followed: families prevented from finding comfort by lies told about their loved ones that have haunted them down the decades, and a fight for the truth hampered by entirely inadequate investigations and wholly unjustifiable obstacles. Who cannot be struck by the dignity and tenacity of those families who, in the face of those obstacles, have fought for the truth and finally, this week, have been vindicated?

The conclusions of Justice Keegan are clear and irrefutable: those who lost their lives were posing no threat; their deaths were without justification. They were Francis Quinn, Father Hugh Mullan, Noel Phillips, Joan Connolly, Daniel Teggart, Joseph Murphy, Eddie Doherty, John Laverty, Joseph Corr and John McKerr. An eleventh man, Paddy McCarthy, a youth worker, died from a heart attack. That families have had to wait for so long to clear their name is a profound failure of justice and one we must learn from, because, as the Secretary of State said, many more families are still fighting for answers. They include Cathy McCann, who in 1990 was the sole survivor of a Provisional IRA bomb in Armagh in which a nun and three policemen were killed. Twenty-one years earlier, her father had been killed by the auxiliary police force, the B Specials.

This ongoing failure to find the truth is an open wound that ties Northern Ireland perpetually to the past. Burying the truth and refusing to prosecute or investigate crimes has not worked in the 23 years since the signing of the Belfast Good Friday agreement, so how can anyone in this House look victims like Cathy in the eye and tell her she must move on? The Government gave victims such as Cathy McCann their word. Through the Stormont House agreement, they promised to establish a comprehensive system to look at all outstanding legacy cases through effective investigations and a process that would, where possible, deliver the truth and the prospect of justice. Yet last Wednesday night, victims found out on Twitter that the Government intend to tear up that plan and provide an effective amnesty to those who took lives. The statement today brings us no closer to understanding the Government’s policy to deal with the legacy of the past.

The lessons of the past are clear: addressing the legacy through the unilateral imposition of an amnesty from Westminster, without the faintest hint of consultation with victims or the support of communities or any political party in Northern Ireland or the Irish Government, would be impossible to deliver. It would make reconciliation harder, and it would not achieve what the Government claim they want. Any process that remains open to legal challenge will invite test cases and bring more veterans back through the courts.

I will finish with a comment on the Prime Minister’s actions—or lack of them—over the past two days. In the aftermath of the Bloody Sunday inquiry, David Cameron came to this House and apologised in a statement. He did not brief apologies from disputed calls with politicians. He took full responsibility. Where is the Prime Minister today, and why has he not publicly apologised to the Ballymurphy families and to this House? Will he take responsibility as Prime Minister and show the victims the respect they so obviously deserve? Victims like those who lost loved ones at Ballymurphy have been let down for far too long. Ministers should bear in mind the words of one victim I spoke with yesterday, as they worked through the next steps of legacy:

“I just want to know what happened. I want to know my dad’s life meant something. I just want the truth.”

The comments made by Louise Haigh, the Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on 20 April 2021.

This attempted murder of a serving police officer is utterly sickening.

All my thoughts are with the officer affected and her family.

Those who want to drag Northern Ireland back to the past have no support, and this reprehensible act has no place in today’s Northern Ireland.

Communities want to live in peace, free from fear and violence. That is the only way forward.

The speech made by Louise Haigh, the Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, in the House of Commons on 13 April 2021.

I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of his statement.

Twenty-three years ago this week, the Belfast Good Friday agreement was signed. The violence in recent days, some of it carried out by children with no memory of the dark days of the past, has been painful to witness. Our thoughts are with those injured, and our deep gratitude belongs with the police, community workers and leaders on the ground who have helped to restore some sense of calm in recent days.

The violence was unjustified and unjustifiable. Those adults cheering on youngsters showed a sickening disregard for their children’s futures. But recent months have shown just how fragile the peace is, and that it requires responsible and careful leadership to safeguard. As the Secretary of State has outlined, there are complex and varied factors behind the causes of the rioting—disrupted paramilitaries lashing out at the police; anger at the way in which the Bobby Storey funeral was handled last year—but there is also a very deep sense of hurt and anger among the Unionist and loyalist communities, which has been building for months and must not be ignored.

The Prime Minister made promises to the people of Northern Ireland that there would be no border with Great Britain, knowing full well that his Brexit deal would introduce barriers across the Irish sea. He made those promises because he knew that economic separation would be unacceptable to the Unionist community, and the growing political instability we are seeing has its roots in the loss of trust that that caused. Trust matters. It is what secured and has always sustained the Belfast Good Friday agreement.

In moments of instability, what Sir John Major and Tony Blair, Mo Mowlam and the right hon. Member for Skipton and Ripon (Julian Smith)—Labour and Conservative—understood was that trust, leadership and partnership are paramount to finding a way forward in Northern Ireland. As a co-guarantor to the Belfast Good Friday agreement, the Prime Minister owes it to the people of Northern Ireland to restore the trust he has squandered. He is not a casual observer to these events. He must step up and urgently convene talks with the political parties in Northern Ireland and all parties to the protocol to find solutions and political agreement.

Can the Secretary of State outline when the Prime Minister is planning to travel to Belfast to convene talks and show the leadership this moment demands? What is the strategy for addressing the loss of trust among the Unionist and loyalist communities to demonstrate that legitimate grievances are being heard? How are representatives of Northern Ireland being brought into the negotiations on huge decisions affecting their future? And can the Secretary of State detail—I have asked him this many times from this Dispatch Box—what practical solutions the Government are seeking with the EU to reduce checks and requirements between Britain and Northern Ireland? Fundamentally, the people of Northern Ireland must see that politics can work, and that the word of politicians can be trusted again.

Recent weeks have demonstrated starkly that peace is an ongoing process. It is no coincidence that violence has flared in areas of profound deprivation, where educational attainment is too low, paramilitary activity 23 years on from the agreement is still criminally high, and children are educated in segregated schools and grow up in segregated communities. For them, the promise of peace has not arrived. A toxic combination of deprivation and disregard has fuelled deep disillusionment. But we must believe that there is still a deep urge for a future where reconciliation walks hand in hand with social justice. We saw that in the courage of communities along the interface in Belfast this past week. We must now see political leaders match that courage.

This moment must mark the end of an era in which Northern Ireland has been relegated to little more than an afterthought and the promise of peace allowed to stall. It demands a collective renewal of our commitment to the agreement and the principles that secured it. It demands that the vacuum of leadership and strategy in Northern Ireland is now filled. The Prime Minister must face up to the consequences of his own actions and show the leadership that the communities are crying out for.

The comments made by Louise Haigh, the Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on 6 April 2021.

This reprehensible violence is unjustified and unjustifiable. It serves no purpose and is risking the lives of frontline workers.

As a former Special Constable, it is sickening to see frontline officers subject to violent attacks simply for doing their job.

The concerns and frustrations communities are feeling must be addressed through dialogue and political leadership alone.

A clear message must be sent that there is simply no excuse for violence.

The comments made by Louise Haigh, the Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on 4 March 2021.

Northern Ireland faces real challenges as a result of the Prime Minister’s deal, but they must be addressed through political leadership.

The Prime Minister must take personal responsibility for finding lasting solutions that lower tension and make the protocol work. Unilaterally undermining his own agreement has only provoked further instability.

He should show leadership and hold urgent talks with all parties to the protocol, and Northern Ireland’s political parties, to ensure the voice of all communities is being heard loud and clear.

The Belfast/Good Friday Agreement is the basis on which communities have lived in peace for two decades. It has endured because cooperation is the only way – that must be the focus.

The comments made by Louise Haigh, the Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary, on 3 March 2021.

The Prime Minister personally negotiated checks down the Irish Sea, and those checks have been known in detail for many months.

It is the Government’s staggering lack of preparation that has left Northern Ireland so exposed.

This is the deal the Prime Minister demanded – he should show some responsibility, and find the lasting solutions with the EU that remain the only way to give businesses the certainty they are crying out for.

Today’s unilateral action will do nothing to solve those long-term challenges facing Northern Ireland.

The comments made by Louise Haigh, the Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on 29 January 2021.

The European Union are right to have stepped back from their decision. This profound misjudgement has caused unnecessary damage and set back efforts to make the Protocol work. The European Union – and all those interested in stability in Northern Ireland – now have a responsibility to redouble their efforts to make the Protocol work.

The comments made by Louise Haigh, the Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on 8 December 2020.

This is a welcome step forward, after months of crippling uncertainty for Northern Ireland. An agreement, not reckless threats, has always been the responsible way forward. Huge challenges remain to implement the Protocol by January 1st, and the Government must now work flat out to help businesses prepare, deliver the much-needed detail, and ensure the new arrangements impact as little as possible on Northern Ireland.

The comments made by Louise Haigh, the Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on 12 November 2020.

It’s clear that the bare basic systems needed to trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland are simply not ready.

The Government now urgently needs to explain what contingency plans are in place to avoid widespread disruption on 1 January.

Businesses and communities must not pay the price for the Government’s staggering incompetence and failure to prepare.

The comments made by Louise Haigh, the Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary, on 6 September 2020.

These reports, if true, show what we have long feared – that the ‘oven-ready’ Brexit deal the Prime Minister promised the British people was yet another example of his fluid relationship with the truth.

Just 10 months after signing a treaty promising to implement the Northern Ireland protocol, Boris Johnson’s government is already threatening to renege on the UK’s legal obligations.

This would be an act of immense bad faith: one that would be viewed dimly by future trading partners and allies around the world and make it more difficult for us to hold other governments to account.

It beggars belief that the Government is – yet again – playing a dangerous game in Northern Ireland and sacrificing our international standing at the altar of the Prime Minister’s incompetence.

It is in the interest of all parties to reduce the burden on businesses and the economy in Northern Ireland, but these practical solutions must be agreed on the basis of trust – trust which Ministers have now jeopardised.