No question of paying any paramilitary group to disband, says Hilary Benn

There is “no question of paying anybody any money to disband”, Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn has told MPs as they raised concerns over transition of paramilitary groups.

Sir Keir Starmer also told the Commons he is “committed to making progress towards ending paramilitaries once and for all”.

SDLP leader Claire Hanna raised the issue at Westminster, saying “people in Northern Ireland are sick to the teeth of paramilitaries” as she called on the Government to learn from previous attempts at transition.

The UK and Irish Governments have announced plans to appoint an independent figure to examine whether a formal process of engagement with paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland is required to bring about their disbandment.

The announcement came after the Independent Reporting Commission (IRC) said in its latest report that a “twin track” process of law enforcement and tackling the roots of paramilitarism is needed.

During Northern Ireland questions Ms Hanna asked Mr Benn to commit to “ensuring that there is no payday for former paramilitaries” and that group would be bound to “preconditions on things like emblems and their financial assets”.

Mr Benn replied: “There is no question, for the avoidance of doubt, there is no question of paying anybody any money to disband. There’s no question of doing that at all.

“And as I indicated a moment ago, for all of the efforts that have been made and there is much to learn from what has worked, the fact remains, as the IRC report makes clear, that there are many communities in Northern Ireland that continue to suffer real harm because of their activity.

“What is the proof of those who say they’re prepared to disband? The proof will be, do they end recruitment, paramilitary style assaults, intimidation, child criminal and sexual exploitation and violence against women and girls, because that is what people are experiencing today in Northern Ireland.”

TUV leader Jim Allister accused the Northern Ireland Secretary of wanting to appoint “a special envoy, a nursemaid, to paramilitaries”, adding “when will this pandering come to an end?”.

Mr Benn said: “The proposal from the IRC is to go and inquire, are there some (paramilitary groups) who do actually want to leave the stage, and is there merit in having a process?

“But what I announced yesterday is not a process to do that. It is a scoping study to find out whether it is worth having one or not, and I think it’s the right thing to do.”

Later during Prime Minister’s Questions, Ms Hanna called on Sir Keir to implement “real learnings from the failed transitions of the past”.

She said a transition process needs to include “no rewards for paramilitaries for hanging on, robust criminal justice, the flags off the lampposts on street corners, and community funded policing to allow communities that have been brutalised by paramilitaries to finally look forward to a confident and shared future”.

The Prime Minister replied: “We are committed to making progress towards ending paramilitaries once and for all in Northern Ireland, and that’s why we have agreed to support a short independent exercise to look at a formal process, and I’ll make sure that the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland keeps her updated.”

In its seventh report, the IRC reiterated its call for the two Governments to appoint an independent person to scope out what a formal process of engagement and group transition might look like.