Fury at bid to speed through NI Bill in the UK

The British government faced fury from both sides of the British House of Commons today as it tried to speed through Northern Ireland legislation.

Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy said today’s Bill contained confidence building measures designed to bring about elections and the restoration of devolved government.

But a series of MPs from both sides of the Commons rose to accuse ministers of “railroading” the Northern Ireland (Monitoring Commission) Bill through the House.

Quentin Davies, for the Tories, said the Parliamentary system was “being made a mockery of by an arrogant government”.

He said: “The Opposition reject absolutely and with passion this Government’s pattern of imposing automatic timetables on all Bills.

“The whole country, anybody in the world who is brought up to democratic principles, will feel it to be deeply offensive to those principles, to the whole spirit of the Parliamentary system.”

Labour’s Andrew Mackinlay said: “It’s a travesty that we are being asked to rubber stamp this legislation this afternoon.

“The danger is if we acquiesce in this by our silence, it will happen again and again and again and it won’t be confined to Northern Ireland legislation.”

Democratic Unionist Leader the Rev Ian Paisley, attacked the timetabling of the Bill, saying: "The people of Northern Ireland are again being treated in a disgraceful manner.

“This legislation proposes to allow another sovereign state to have an unprecedented say in the internal affairs of the Northern Ireland Assembly.”

Most of its measures, he said, were directed against his party.

The timetable motion was carried by 243 votes to 21, a government majority of 222.

Mr Murphy said the Bill was an “essential step along the road towards ... elections, leading to the restoration of devolution” in the North.

The IMC will have powers to deal with departures from the commitment to using purely peaceful and democratic means.

It was almost a year since devolved government was suspended and the “gains” of devolution risked being lost unless it was restored in the near future.

“The IMC is intended to build confidence on all sides because confidence is essential for politics to work in Northern Ireland.”

There was much speculation about whether elections would be held this year. “We are working hard to ensure that they can be,” Mr Murphy pledged. “I profoundly hope that they will be held.”