Hilary Benn MP: speeches

Speeches

• 14 Sept 2026 · Robert Hamill Inquiry Report · Hansard source

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  I begin by congratulating my right hon. Friend on his appointment as Secretary of State. This is the first chance I have had to do so, and I wish him every success for the future. This is a shocking story of a young man, Robert Hamill, who was the victim of a sectarian murder, but also the victim of the deliberate decision of a police officer to ring up a suspect a few hours after the murder to warn him to dispose of his clothing, because it might incriminate him, rather than fulfil his duty to uphold the law, and who then lied about it. Does my right hon. Friend agree that it is so important finally to tell the truth about what happened during the troubles, if reconciliation in Northern Ireland is to be progressed?

• 11 Sept 2026 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  This is a very difficult moral and practical question, but for me it is fundamentally about whether we can act to relieve human suffering. We have heard a number of profoundly moving speeches in the debate, and I highlight in particular the speeches of my hon. Friends the Members for West Lancashire (Ashley Dalton) and for Filton and Bradley Stoke (Claire Hazelgrove). We are talking about people who fear or face unbearable pain, choking or gasping for breath, or loss of control at the end of their lives. Are they not vulnerable, too? For me, that is an important point. The question is, can we really look these people in the eye at the moment and say, “I’m very sorry, but I am not prepared to vote to support your being given the means to remove that fear”—not everyone will take advantage of the provision, but for them it is an assurance—“or to relieve that suffering, even though that is what you wish”? Are we going to say, “I’m sorry, but I will not give you the means of determining the manner of your passing from this world, surrounded by those whom you love”?

• 11 Sept 2026 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  I will not give way because of the constraints of time. I do not think we can any longer justify the contradiction that is at the heart of this debate. We know that people with terminal illnesses are already killing themselves. That happens. It is not at all covered by the protections contained in the Bill that my hon. Friend the Member for Rochester and Strood (Lauren Edwards) has proposed. The biggest contradiction of all for me is the fact that there are those who travel abroad. We know that is happening, and I think it is a very uncomfortable fact for those who oppose the Bill for this reason: it is a gaping hole in the argument against the Bill. The truth is that the Crown Prosecution Service faced a terrible dilemma. It could see the number of people going to Switzerland, and it had to ask itself, “Are we actually going to prosecute mums, dads, spouses, lovers, friends, brothers and sisters for going with those whom they love to be with them at the end?” That is how the CPS came to draw up its guidelines. For me, they are full of common sense, because they say that in these circumstances, it is not in the public interest to prosecute someone. If we look at the figures, the vast majority of family members who have accompanied their loved ones to Switzerland have not—rightly, in my view—been prosecuted for what I would regard as a final act of love. Indeed, it would be an outrage to prosecute them. Despite those guidelines, some people are fearful, because they get questioned when they come back, and some have not gone to Switzerland with their loved ones, to hold their hands at the last, for fear of what might happen to them. The question I put to the House is this: if we have in effect legalised assisted dying for British citizens who have the money and means to do it abroad, and that is what we have done—I have heard no one in the debate criticise that—then why are we not prepared to provide the same means to people who are terminally ill to bring their lives to an end here in the United Kingdom? Coming to terms with our own mortality is about the final journey that we will make. We talk about awe and wonder; I never fully understood what awe and wonder meant until I was present at the death of those I loved most dearly. When the previous Bill was given its Second Reading, and the result was declared, there was this extraordinary moment—complete silence in the House. Why was that the case? Because we understood the significance of what we had just done and the consequence of the Bill that we would eventually vote to send to the other place. Today we are once again called on to make our choice. I have made mine. I will cast my vote to enable those who are terminally ill and who want to take control of the moment of their death, who want to be able to relieve their suffering, and who want to feel that they do not have to fear what is coming, to take that decision, if that is their choice. I urge the House not to deny those people that choice.

• 8 Sept 2026 · Israel and Palestine · Hansard source

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  May I congratulate my right hon. Friend on both the substance and the moral clarity of his statement today? Last weekend, Mike Huckabee, the United States ambassador to Israel, condemned Israeli settler violence as terrorism. Does my right hon. Friend therefore share the widespread concern that the IDF, rather than taking action to arrest these terrorists, is all too often to be seen watching—or even facilitating, as has been widely reported—while Palestinians’ homes are attacked and their properties seized?

• 8 Jul 2026 · Community Cohesion · Hansard source

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  There is a responsibility, above all, on the Northern Ireland Executive to deliver for the people of Northern Ireland. There being no Executive in Northern Ireland for 40% of the time since the Good Friday agreement has not helped to achieve that objective. To take one issue, there is an acute housing crisis in Northern Ireland, as there is in other parts of the United Kingdom. In taking action to enable more homes to be built, one of the issues that needs to be addressed is the fact that water infrastructure cannot cope. If that is sorted out, more homes can be built.

• 8 Jul 2026 · Community Cohesion · Hansard source

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  We have already increased the number of operations and arrests in Northern Ireland in the last two years, in comparison with the previous period. About 1,000 people who had no right to be in Northern Ireland have been removed, including 500 who have been returned to the Republic of Ireland. The hon. Member will be well aware of the importance of the open border. Intelligence-led policing at the ports and airports under Operation Gull and visits to workplaces have resulted in more people being detained and removed.

• 8 Jul 2026 · Community Cohesion · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Gentleman raises a really important point, and I am grateful to him for his question. We all have a responsibility—political leaders have a responsibility to call out what was witnessed for what it is and not mince our words, and as I have already indicated, social media companies have a responsibility to ensure that such material, if it is illegal, is not available on social media sites. I pay tribute to the police and the community organisations, who did an extraordinary job on the night of the 10th to find shelter for people who had been burned out of their homes. Parents also have a responsibility; if someone’s son comes back at 11 o’clock at night wearing dark clothing and smelling of smoke, a parent might ask, “Where have you been and what have you been doing?”

• 8 Jul 2026 · Community Cohesion · Hansard source

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  Northern Ireland is a society, as the hon. Gentleman knows better than most, that has been undergoing profound change since the signing of the Good Friday agreement 28 years ago. As the famous lines go, we have a shared history, but not necessarily a shared memory. The progress we have seen is because Northern Ireland society has been working to move beyond that. One of the people I met who was there on the night of the violence said that we now have “another other” in Northern Ireland. The hon. Gentleman will be familiar with the traditional divisions, but there is now another other: the ethnic minority population of Northern Ireland, who are terrified about what is happening. We do not want to add to the troubles of the past by not being clear how unacceptable it is to see that on the streets of Belfast today.

• 8 Jul 2026 · Community Cohesion · Hansard source

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  I regularly meet the Northern Ireland Executive and the Police Service of Northern Ireland to discuss a range of issues in Northern Ireland, including community cohesion. However, given the recent serious disorder, there is a problem that needs to be tackled.

• 8 Jul 2026 · Community Cohesion · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is right to raise this issue, because five of the main parties have now come forward with various proposals for reform. I have said to the party leaders that I wish to meet them to discuss those proposals. Time and effort is being expended at the moment on trying to sort out the problem of the budget. On the question of the paramilitary displays and flags, the Police Service of Northern Ireland has new powers to remove them as a result of the recommendation of Jonathan Hall, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation.

• 8 Jul 2026 · Community Cohesion · Hansard source

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  I do agree with my hon. Friend. The attack on Mr Ogilvie was truly shocking, and there was no justification whatsoever for the racist thuggery we witnessed on the streets of Belfast in the days following. I met nurses and doctors from a hospital in Belfast, and some of the nurses described to me how, because of the colour of their skin, they were too afraid to leave the hospital at the end of their shift, while others discussed whether they should leave in the back of a colleague’s car covered in a coat or in the boot, because they were afraid of the thugs who had taken control of the streets. The fact that that happened on the streets of our United Kingdom in 2026 should give us all cause for deep concern.

• 8 Jul 2026 · Community Cohesion · Hansard source

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  That was, of course, an awful feature of what we saw. One of the things I learned in my discussions was that those from the far right had taken a list of houses in multiple occupation in Belfast—a list that, in the interests of openness, was properly available on the Belfast city council website; the council has now taken it down—and used it to try to target houses during the racist violence. There is a clear obligation on social media companies, set out in the Online Safety Act 2023, and there is an obligation on Ofcom to enforce that Act, because there is no doubt that part of the violence was fuelled by that kind of online hatred.

• 8 Jul 2026 · Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Trade Costs · Hansard source

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  I regularly meet representatives of the logistics sector and businesses trading between Great Britain and Northern Ireland—for instance, through the Northern Ireland business stakeholders group—to discuss how we can make the Windsor framework operate as smoothly as possible.

• 8 Jul 2026 · Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Trade Costs · Hansard source

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  In respect of the EU emissions trading system, yes, we are applying a carbon charge to boat movements between Great Britain and Northern Ireland—the same charge that is being applied between Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland. The purpose of that is to ensure that the carbon border adjustment mechanism does not hit businesses in Northern Ireland, which the right hon. Gentleman would be very cross about if it were to be the case. Let me simply say this to him: if things are as bad as he suggests, why is Northern Ireland one of the fastest-growing parts of the United Kingdom economy?

• 8 Jul 2026 · Troubles Legacy: Legislation · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend makes an important point about this piece of legislation. As we know, the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 did not command support across all communities in Northern Ireland. How can we hope to proceed if that is the case? That is why the Government are committed to reforming, repealing and replacing the legacy Act—that is what is in the Bill. I hope that when people see the full picture they will realise that it is fair, balanced, proportionate and reasonable, and that it seeks to command the confidence of all communities in Northern Ireland.

• 8 Jul 2026 · Troubles Legacy: Legislation · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Gentleman makes a powerful argument for why the troubles Bill should be passed, because it will enable precisely the information sharing with the Irish authorities that he and I want to see, and that all the people in Northern Ireland who are still waiting for answers would like to receive. That is one of the central arguments for proceeding with the Bill.

• 8 Jul 2026 · Troubles Legacy: Legislation · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Gentleman will have noticed that the new Defence Secretary, who himself served in Northern Ireland, said on Monday: “This Government are absolutely committed to the troubles Bill”. —[ Official Report , 6 July 2026; Vol. 789, c. 15.] The right hon. Gentleman will not have to wait too much longer— [ Interruption ] — to see the substantial package of amendments to which he refers.

• 8 Jul 2026 · Troubles Legacy: Legislation · Hansard source

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  The Northern Ireland Troubles Bill will establish a reformed, human rights-compliant Legacy Commission to carry out investigations and provide answers on behalf of families who have waited too long, enable information sharing by the Irish authorities and provide, in law, safeguards for our veterans.

• 8 Jul 2026 · Troubles Legacy: Legislation · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Selly Oak (Al Carns) will have to answer that question, but, with respect, I disagree with him. He worked on the package of amendments during his time as a Defence Minister. In the end, we have to strike a balance, as the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Alex Burghart) is well aware. When people see those amendments, they will realise that they are fair and reasonable with regard to the protection of our veterans. Crucially, they will put into legislation for the first time protections that were not in the Act passed in 2023.

• 8 Jul 2026 · Troubles Legacy: Legislation · Hansard source

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  As the right hon. Gentleman knows, the Irish Government published on 8 June their legislative outline, entitled “The General Scheme of the Legacy of the Troubles Bill 2026”. That is intended to fulfil the commitment that the Irish Government gave in the joint framework to co-operate to the fullest extent possible with the commission. The right hon. Gentleman is referring to the position today in the light of the Dillon judgment, and I happen to agree with him. Now that the Dillon judgment has made it quite clear that the commission, even in its current form, is compliant with the European convention on human rights and capable of carrying out investigations, I hope that we will see co-operation in response to the requests that the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery is making of the Irish Government.

• 8 Jul 2026 · Troubles Legacy: Legislation · Hansard source

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  I do not accept that, because all the Northern Ireland political parties were opposed to the immunity that was at the heart of the 2023 legacy Act. It had no support from political parties in Northern Ireland or from victims and survivors’ organisations. That is why these changes have to be made, and that is why the Government will proceed with this Bill.

• 8 Jul 2026 · Troubles Legacy: Legislation · Hansard source

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  We will come to debate that amendment, along with all the other amendments that hon. and right hon. Members have tabled, when we get to the Committee stage. The judgment in the Thompson case was absolutely clear—it was also referred to by the Dillon judgment—that the ultimate responsibility for protecting national security rests with the Government. That is a long-established principle that has support on both sides of the House. At the same time, I have made it clear that I wish to see the maximum possible disclosure, consistent with that requirement that falls on Ministers.

• 8 Jul 2026 · Recent Disorder · Hansard source

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  I met the leaders of the main Northern Ireland political parties on Thursday 11 June to discuss the terrible disorder. The attack on Mr Ogilvie was truly shocking, but the racist violence that we saw in response had no justification whatsoever.

• 8 Jul 2026 · Recent Disorder · Hansard source

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  I join the hon. Gentleman in thanking and praising the brave officers of the PSNI. My hon. Friend the Member for Wirral West (Matthew Patrick) and I visited the officers at Strandtown police station, who dealt with the disorder when the bus was set on fire on 10 June. More than 40 of them were injured, and we wish them a speedy recovery. I know that the hon. Gentleman is a doughty advocate for the new training centre, and I look forward to discussing the matter further with him.

• 8 Jul 2026 · Recent Disorder · Hansard source

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  I hope the hon. Lady will recognise that the common travel area, which is more than a century old, is of great benefit to the citizens of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Many people in Northern Ireland live their lives across that border every single day. Anyone who suggests—I know that she is not doing so—that there should be immigration controls on that border is not being realistic, and it would not be the appropriate action to take. As I indicated in answer to an earlier question, we are increasing immigration enforcement activity across the United Kingdom, including in Northern Ireland, as a result of which 1,000 people have been removed in the two years since the election, including 500 who have been returned to the Republic of Ireland.