§ 6. Sir Nicholas Winterton (Macclesfield) (Con)What recent progress has been made on the decommissioning of illegally held weapons and explosives.[180486]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Mr. Ian Pearson)There have been four acts of decommissioning to date. The latest act occurred on 21 October 2003, when the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning reported that it had witnessed a third event in which IRA weapons were put beyond use.
§ Sir Nicholas WintertonI accept that there have been four such acts, but does the Minister accept that, although the last was slightly larger than the previous three, they have been only token acts of decommissioning? If Sinn Fein/IRA are serious about democracy and wanting to share power in Northern Ireland, they will have to decommission considerably more arms and make those decommissioning acts more meaningful. Is it not about time that the Government took this more seriously, and pressed Sinn Fein really, genuinely, to decommission its weapons?
§ Mr. PearsonWe are taking these matters seriously. It is important not to lose sight of the fact that three acts of decommissioning by the Provisional IRA have taken place. That was the start of the process, and the hon. Gentleman is right in the sense that the process must continue until all the apparatus of terrorism in all its 272 forms has been dismantled. That is the clear objective of the Government, and it will be the clear objective of the intensive talks that we will hold in September.
§ David Burnside (South Antrim) (UUP)Why should the IRA decommission? The deadline was June 2000. The Government did not stick to the deadline. The Blair promise of action and expulsion was not adhered to. Why should the IRA decommission, when it has a very useful negotiating tool for the next raft of concessions to Sinn Fein/IRA?
§ Mr. PearsonWhat is important is to recognise that the decommissioning process has started. Certainly we as a Government are not complacent. We want to see an end to all paramilitary activity, we want to see full decommissioning, and we want to see Sinn Fein take its place on the Policing Board. We need to ensure that all the parties are agreed and signed up to this, and that the Provisional IRA and the other terrorist groups all put their weapons beyond use.