Hermon tackles Hain on Failures
During his evidence to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, Ulster Unionist MP Lady Hermon tackled Secretary of State Peter Hain MP on some of the NIO’s recent failures. Speaking from Westminster afterwards, she said:
“Peter Hain certainly did not get off lightly today. During his evidence to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, I challenged him to articulate the NIO’s strategy in bringing about loyalist decommissioning. Not for the first time, his answers came up short.”
The North Down MP continued:
“He also failed to express any regret for the use of the term ‘joint stewardship’ by the Prime Minister last month at Armagh, a term completely contrary to the principle of consent. It’s of great concern that a Government which has been in power for so long with a Secretary of State who has a year’s experience in the job can, nevertheless, recklessly bandy about such terminology without any regard for the deep anxiety and offence caused to the unionist community.”