Clause 1 - Offences to which the Act applies
Northern Ireland (Offences) Bill
4:30 pm
David Hanson (Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office; Delyn, Labour)
I am in a difficult position, Sird¤Nicholas, in the sense that although I am a Government Minister, I was not in this position prior to the general election. Since May 2005, the Secretary of State and I, as the Ministers responsible for this legislation—the bulk of which we inherited from previous Ministers—have considered how to manage it and deal with its impact. We had to decide what to do in respect of service personnel if it were decided that terrorist suspects should potentially have a route through a scheme that gives them a conviction and releases them on licence. We had to establish in our own mind what would happen to individuals who had served in the armed forces and were charged with having committed an offence prior to 10 April 1998, whether that offence was one of collusion or of the type described by the hon. Member for Lancaster and Wyre, or whether it emerged from one of the ongoing inquiries.
We had to take a decision to apply the scheme fairly and honestly to all. Not all the individuals in question have faced similar circumstances—we cannot and will not morally equate terrorism with the activities of the security forces—but the offences for which any conviction is pending are similar. Had not done as we have, we could have faced a situation in which a soldier who committed an offence could be sentenced to imprisonment and there would be no licence agreement, but a terrorist who committed and was charged with the same offence could be released on licence under the scheme.
I recognise that there is total opposition to the idea of a terrorist receiving the type of sentencing system that has been described by Opposition Members and by the hon. Member for Foyle (Mark Durkan) and others in his party. However, I hope that they recognise that if the Government proceed with that aspect of the legislation, they will also be giving fair treatment to individuals who face charges at the same level.