Hilary Benn MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 21 May 2025 · Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023: Replacement · Hansard source

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  I listen carefully to all the representations that are made to me, including in that report, which I have read. I am committed to introducing legislation as soon as possible, although that is subject to the availability of parliamentary time. This Government came into office absolutely committed to remedying the absolute failure of the Legacy Act passed by the previous Government.

• 21 May 2025 · Veterans: Legal Protections · Hansard source

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  The veterans who served in Operation Banner did so with distinction in very difficult circumstances, and ultimately helped to bring about the peace that Northern Ireland now enjoys. We owe them a huge debt of gratitude. Together with the Defence Secretary and Minister for Veterans, I am currently considering measures for our legacy legislation to ensure better protections for elderly veterans.

• 21 May 2025 · Veterans: Legal Protections · Hansard source

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  I will inform the House of proposals in due course. I am in discussions with the Irish Government, and that is well known publicly. The reason the legacy Act resulted in so much trouble and difficulty, and produced so much incompatibility with our international obligations, is that the last Government, having negotiated the Stormont House agreement with the parties and the Irish Government, decided to perform a 180° turn and put in legislation that did not command support in Northern Ireland. I want to make progress on this as quickly as possible, and I am continuing to talk to all the parties about doing so.

• 21 May 2025 · Veterans: Legal Protections · Hansard source

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  We have begun the process of repealing and replacing the legacy Act in the proposed draft remedial order. It will deal with the conditional immunity that was struck down by the courts, and which we came into office committed to remove because it did not command support across Northern Ireland, as it would have given immunity to terrorists, including those who killed the soldiers to whom the right hon. Member for Goole and Pocklington (David Davis) referred earlier. I intend to bring forward legislation to complete that process when parliamentary time allows, because this Government inherited a completely hopeless piece of legislation, which has been found time and again to be incompatible with our international obligations.

• 21 May 2025 · Veterans: Legal Protections · Hansard source

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  I can say directly to the right hon. Gentleman: there are no such plans.

• 21 May 2025 · Veterans: Legal Protections · Hansard source

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  I agree with what the former Defence Secretary said in 2019. He said: “The British Army uphold British values, which is the rule of law, and that’s what we stand for.” I advise the right hon. Gentleman to be a little bit careful about using the phrase “politically motivated” prosecutions—I hope I have correctly quoted him. Let us be clear: decisions about any prosecutions, in any cases, are taken by the independent Public Prosecution Service, which is entirely separate from the Executive.

• 21 May 2025 · Good Friday Agreement: Lessons Learned · Hansard source

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  The Good Friday agreement has brought peace, security and a better life to the people of Northern Ireland. It remains an unparalleled achievement almost 30 years on from its signing, and I pay tribute to all those involved in its creation for their political courage, bravery and willingness to compromise.

• 21 May 2025 · Good Friday Agreement: Lessons Learned · Hansard source

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  I share with the hon. Member and the whole House a wish to see lasting peace in the middle east, and what is happening at the moment is appalling and intolerable. However, I think the most important lesson from the Good Friday agreement was the courageous political leadership shown by the parties to the conflict—people such as John Hume and David Trimble—and I have to say that, tragically, that same courageous political leadership is absent in the middle east.

• 21 May 2025 · Interim Custody Orders: Compensation · Hansard source

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  The Supreme Court judgment was in 2020, and the last Government could not find a legal solution in almost three years. I am committed to finding one, and I promise that I will update the House when we have found it.

• 21 May 2025 · Interim Custody Orders: Compensation · Hansard source

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  The Government are currently considering the report of the Joint Committee on Human Rights and the representations made to it.

• 21 May 2025 · Interim Custody Orders: Compensation · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his service in our armed forces, alongside all those who served. He is absolutely right about the flawed piece of legislation that this Government inherited, and we are working hard to put that right.

• 21 May 2025 · Interim Custody Orders: Compensation · Hansard source

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  This issue arose following the Supreme Court judgment in 2020, which found certain custody orders to be unlawful. The amendment to the legacy Act to try to deal with that has also been found unlawful by the Northern Ireland courts, so the Government are carefully exploring how to lawfully address this complex issue, alongside our commitment to implement legacy mechanisms that are fully compliant with human rights. I will, of course, keep the House updated.

• 21 May 2025 · Interim Custody Orders: Compensation · Hansard source

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  As I told the House a moment ago, the courts found that clauses 46 and 47 were unlawful. Although the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal was not obviously asked to rule on that, because we had withdrawn the appeal, it did comment unfavourably on those provisions. We supported clauses 46 and 47 at the time, but they have not worked, and that is why we have to find an alternative way forward. I just say to the House that the main issue here is the Carltona principle, which the last Government argued meant it was lawful for junior Ministers to sign ICOs. The amendment to try to deal with that failed, and we need to find another way of reaffirming that principle. That is at the heart of this case.

• 21 May 2025 · Strengthening the Union: GB and NI · Hansard source

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  The Government and I support the Union, and I also support the Good Friday agreement. I point out to the hon. and learned Gentleman that when it comes to customs arrangements, there are no mandatory checks. There are checks that apply generally on the basis of risk and intelligence.

• 21 May 2025 · Strengthening the Union: GB and NI · Hansard source

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  The Union between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which we will discuss next month at the East-West Council, remains strong. The deal with the EU will enable the smooth flow of agrifood and plants within the UK’s internal market. That is why it has been overwhelmingly welcomed by businesses.

• 21 May 2025 · Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  I am sure that my hon. Friend, and the whole House, welcomes the recently announced increase in defence expenditure. Northern Ireland has a strong and significant defence sector, and Spirit is part of that. The Secretary of State for Defence has made it very clear that he wants the increased expenditure to result in more jobs and more orders for British companies.

• 21 May 2025 · Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  The agreement on the application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures that was reached with the European Union on Monday is extremely significant. As the hon. Member will know, it has been widely welcomed by businesses throughout Northern Ireland, including supermarkets, retailers and farmers, because of the assistance it will give in getting rid of many of the elements associated with the SPS arrangement. It is the fruition of this Government’s determination, when we came into office, to negotiate a closer relationship with the EU, which is exactly what we have done.

• 21 May 2025 · Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  Economic growth is this Government’s priority, and our industrial strategy is central to that. It will be published in June, and will support the Executive’s plans for growth. The latest figures from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency show that Northern Ireland experienced stronger growth than the United Kingdom as a whole last year.

• 21 May 2025 · Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  On customs, in addition to the SPS deal, the significantly reduced Windsor framework customs arrangements, introduced on 1 May, will of course remain in place, because the UK is not in the EU customs union and we have no intention of joining it. It is clear from the text of the agreement what will be removed and that customs information will remain for SPS goods, but we are working hard to make life easier and introduced changes on 1 May. Reducing the number of lines of information that need to be provided from 75 to 21 is a very good example of how we are working with the EU to make it easier for goods to flow.

• 21 May 2025 · Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  The new Grand Central station is a magnificent piece of infrastructure, and I recommend any Members who have not yet had a chance to visit it to do so. I am not contemplating for one second that there will not be an Executive in place. Perhaps the single most important contribution that the Executive can make to continued economic growth in Northern Ireland is to stay in place and give confidence to those whom we are all working hard to encourage to come and invest in Northern Ireland’s economic future.

• 21 May 2025 · Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  There is a great deal that the Executive can do to help promote economic growth. I have just given one example, and investing in and supporting the development of skills is another. Northern Ireland has the lowest unemployment in the United Kingdom, but it also has a higher rate of worklessness, and getting more people back into work and giving them the skills that will enable them to take part in the economy will help to boost growth.

• 21 May 2025 · US-UK Economic Prosperity Deal: Northern Ireland · Hansard source

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  The trade deal with the USA, together with the agreements with the EU and India, are very significant. Northern Ireland exporters, including those exporting services, technology and farming goods, will benefit in the same way as those in other parts of the UK. In particular, the US deal is a major opportunity for Northern Ireland farmers to sell their high-quality beef to a US market of over 300 million people.

• 21 May 2025 · US-UK Economic Prosperity Deal: Northern Ireland · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman is right to point out that EU retaliatory tariffs directed at the USA would have an impact in Northern Ireland, because of its dual-market access. I can write to him with further details of how precisely that would work. It depends partly on whether there is less or more than a 3% difference between the tariff in the EU and the tariff that applies in the UK.

• 30 Apr 2025 · Windsor Framework: Parcel Delivery · Hansard source

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  I simply do not accept that characterisation of what we are debating and what I am seeking to describe. To return to the point that I was in the process of putting to Members, a very practical question had to be addressed. Some may argue, “Well, that’s not our problem. Leave the EU to work out what they’re going to do.” However, that would not be the response of a good neighbour. We would not do it ourselves, and therefore we should not do that to the EU. The Windsor framework recognises the nature of the practical problem and finds a mechanism for dealing with it. The same is true in respect of parcels, because the United Kingdom would not allow parcels from any other part of the world to come in without knowing what was in them. We would not permit that, would we? Certainly not. That is not the arrangement that we operate. In the same way, because once the goods arrive in Northern Ireland, potentially they could move into the European Union, the EU wants to be satisfied in the same way in seeking these new arrangements. That is the fundamental point of principle. What we have is much better than what would have applied had there been an attempt to implement the original Northern Ireland protocol. That is why, when I was in opposition, and before I became the shadow Secretary of State, I welcomed the negotiations of the Windsor framework. I congratulated the then Prime Minister, because it represented a really important way forward. My second point is that by agreeing to the new parcels arrangement, we have unlocked agreement on new customs arrangements that will simplify processes for businesses moving goods via freight. Unnecessary customs paperwork will be removed, and goods will be able to move using a simplified set of what is described as internal market movement information. For example, from tomorrow, the arrangement will reduce the standard range of data fields that need to be completed from a possible 75 to 21 for standard goods. That is, on anyone’s measure, a simplification.

• 30 Apr 2025 · Windsor Framework: Parcel Delivery · Hansard source

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  Let me start again. It is a pleasure to respond to this debate. I offer my thanks to the hon. and learned Member for North Antrim (Jim Allister) for having secured it, giving us another opportunity to debate the Windsor framework. As Members will be aware, the new arrangements for freight and parcels come into effect tomorrow, 1 May. They are an important step forward in the implementation of the Windsor framework, and an important part of the commitments that were made in the “Safeguarding the Union” Command Paper. They follow a lot of preparatory work across Government and industry to ensure that the necessary processes and systems are in place. The Government recognise, and I recognise, that the new arrangements represent a change for some businesses when sending and receiving goods, but I must be frank: the system in place since the UK formally left the EU was never viable in the long term. My point goes right back to the reason why we have a Windsor framework, which the hon. and learned Gentleman and I have debated many times: when we left the European Union, there was an issue that needed to be addressed. The United Kingdom had one set of rules, and the European Union had another. In every other part of the world, trade between those two entities would be governed by a border, and stuff would be checked to ensure that what was coming in complied with the rules of one jurisdiction or the other. The unique difference in respect of Northern Ireland is that there is no practical border between Northern Ireland and the Republic. Therefore, the question that the previous Government had to address when negotiating the Windsor framework was: as a good neighbour, how do we ensure that goods that move into the Republic—and therefore into the European Union—comply with the rules of that jurisdiction, in exactly the same way that the United Kingdom ensures that goods that come into our jurisdiction comply with our rules? That is the first point. The Windsor framework is a huge improvement on the Northern Ireland protocol, which, as I have said many times, was never going to work.