HL Deb 20 March 1997 vol 579 cc1160-3

8.10 p.m.

Baroness Denton of Wakefield rose to move, That the draft order laid before the House on 10th March be approved [15th Report from the Joint Committee].

The noble Baroness said: My Lords, the draft order before your Lordships' House this evening would continue in force for a further 12 months from 16th June the temporary provisions of the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1996.

Since the first Emergency Provisions Act was passed in 1973 it has been an annual duty falling upon your Lordships' House to consider whether the provisions remain necessary and should be renewed.

Your Lordships are familiar with the issues which underlie this evening's debate. Each year we must consider the Act against the background of the prevailing security situation in Northern Ireland, and against the report of the independent reviewer of the Act, Mr. John Rowe QC.

I shall describe the change in the security situation since the predecessor Act, the 1991 Emergency Provisions Act, was last reviewed in June last year.

At that time we had already experienced the horror of the terrorists' renewed campaign; and my right honourable friend the Home Secretary had introduced, and Parliament had passed, new powers under the Prevention of Terrorism Act to give the police in England and Wales the same range of responses to terrorism as the police and the Army have under the Emergency Provisions Act in Northern Ireland. There has been no terrorist attack on the mainland since Manchester in June last year. There is no room for complacency, however, and we know that the absence of attacks on the mainland since June has in part been down to security force successes in tracking down the terrorists and their caches of arms, ammunition and explosives.

Tonight, however, we are concerned with Northern Ireland and the use of the Emergency Provisions Act to counter the renewed terrorist threat there.

Such has been the intensification of the Provisional IRA's campaign since the Lisburn bombs in October that, excluding attacks aborted or thwarted by security forces, serious terrorist attacks are currently occurring at the rate of one every three or four days. And it is with great sorrow that we are reminded of the cruel and untimely deaths of Warrant Officer James Bradwell and Lance Bombardier Stephen Restorick. Those brave men have paid the ultimate sacrifice. They are representative of the courage and the dedication of the men and women of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the Armed Forces whose professionalism and effectiveness is reflected in the significant catalogue of successes achieved against the terrorists over recent months.

There can be little doubt that such successes have been assisted in some cases by the powers available to the security forces by virtue of the Emergency Provisions Act.

There is no doubt that the powers contained in the Act are still needed. Independent reports have shown that they have been used properly in the past year. Mr. John Rowe recommends the renewal of the powers. I urge your Lordships to renew them for a further year, thus ensuring that the range of measures available to combat terrorism is kept intact. In the meantime, I ask that we all work towards and pray for a peaceful solution. Until that arrives, the Act is important.

Moved, That the draft Order laid before the House on 10th March be approved [15th Report from the Joint Committee].—(Baroness Denton of Wakefield.)

8.15 p.m.

Lord McConnell

My Lords, I have spoken a few times on this Act, and so I intend to be brief on this occasion. I want merely to say that I still support it, because I believe that the vast majority of decent people in Northern Ireland deserve to be protected from terrorism. As the Minister told us, murder and intimidation continue. There is not just murder and maiming, but the kind of intimidation in which people are told that if they do not get out onto the streets and protest they will be dealt with. That is more insidious even than the straight terrorist attack.

I am pleased that the Minister referred to the Report of Mr. John Rowe QC who strongly recommended that: Undoubtedly the powers and provisions of the Act are required for another year. There is continued terrorist activity, and there is a real threat of more of it". So, as I have said, I support the Act. I congratulate the RUC and the military on the way in which they have stood up for the ordinary people of Northern Ireland.

Lord Fitt

My Lords, I wish that I could put my hand on my heart and oppose the order. I was a Member of another place when the Bill was put through. As one who believes in civil liberties, I resisted many of its proposals. But as the years have advanced and my understanding of the events in Northern Ireland has increased, it would be in total contradiction of my own conscience were I to register a vote against the order.

However, I want to put on record, and I am sure that the Minister will not object, that although she said the order was needed in Northern Ireland—she referred to the deaths of the warrant officer and the soldier—intimidation is taking place there from both sides of the community. All the intimidation, murders and mayhem that have taken place are not restricted to the IRA.

Only a few days ago, a father in Northern Ireland who was making up a bottle for his young child was murdered. We suspect it was by those engaged in Loyalist violence. Every effort must be used to try to apprehend the murderous criminals on both sides of the religious and political divide, because many people in Northern Ireland believe that there is too much concentration on the activities of the IRA. There are two murderous elements in Northern Ireland. Both of them should be treated with the same concern.

Lord Cooke of Islandreagh

My Lords, I support the order, because under the present conditions with IRA/Sinn Fein making every effort to bomb and murder people, it is absolutely necessary. I wish particularly to acknowledge the debt which all of us in Northern Ireland owe to the security forces, the police and the Armed Forces. Their expertise and devotion to duty in recent months have prevented or interfered with probably three out of four of the attempts of the IRA to kill and maim people.

The police have been greatly helped by the stream of timely information they have received from all quarters, often from people who put themselves at risk in passing the information. That support for the police is a hopeful sign for the future.

We spoke earlier of the Minister's problem in relation to employment, but I have not had an opportunity to acknowledge the remarkable work she has done in Northern Ireland in the past three or four years. She has been the Minister responsible for the economy and for agriculture. That was previously full-time work for two men. She has been responsible for almost all the wealth-creating sectors of the Province. In addition to demolishing a vast mountain of work, she has visited countless factories and farms throughout the Province. She has listened. She has explained. She has commended, and she has been helpful where appropriate. Community barriers have meant nothing to her during her visits. She has boosted morale and helped people to feel that government are not remote, which has generally been the case in recent years. The consistently improving employment figures, which are the lowest ever, show that she has not worked in vain. Whenever the noble Baroness leaves Northern Ireland—and I hope that it will not be for a very long time—she will be much missed and remembered with affection.

Baroness Denton of Wakefield

My Lords, again, your kindness excels. I believe that I almost heard the noble Lord, Lord Cooke, say that one woman can do the work of two men. That perhaps is not in dispute between my colleagues and I on the Front Bench.

There is no greater product than Northern Ireland to sell to the world. I am delighted that business—after all, government facilitates but business creates employment—has played a magnificent and increasing role during my years there. That has given us all much pleasure.

I say to the noble Lord, Lord Fitt, that killing people is wrong in any community. The death of the father of seven children is much to be condemned. Extreme sympathy is offered to the families. There will be no greater celebration than in your Lordships' House when we do not have to bring this order forward. I hope that one day the intellect of those indulging in violence will suddenly wake up to the fact that it will not work. In the meantime, we must again bring forward the emergency provisions order and I commend it to the House.

On Question, Motion agreed to.