[Sir Alan Haselhurst in the Chair] — Clause 1 — Extension of amnesty period

Part of Orders of the Day — Northern Ireland Arms Decommissioning (Amendment) Bill – in the House of Commons at 4:45 pm on 9 January 2002.

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Photo of David Burnside David Burnside UUP, South Antrim 4:45, 9 January 2002

I wish to support the amendments. This issue goes far wider than pragmatism and extending the deadline for a while because the legal requirement is that the terrorists must be allowed to decommission. That was the basis of the Good Friday agreement—to move the terrorists to democracy and, one hopes, some time in the future, even to this place.

I am totally disillusioned with this process and give the Government no credibility whatever because the word "deadline" should be banned from Northern Ireland political vocabulary.