Mr. Raymond McCord:

On 1 May when the guillotine comes down, I intend to determine whether it is a temporary guillotine. We all have to fight, as I have said, to ensure it is a temporary guillotine. The Government and the people who are imposing it on us do not live in this country. I do not know many of the MPs or the system of Parliament but we will listen to the 350 or 360 Conservative MPs debating in Parliament. Those who spoke - I will say they are characters to put it in a nice way - emphasised in their arguments and their speeches in Parliament that it was going to help victims move on and will get the truth. They said the justice system did not work. The justice system will not work because the state will not allow it to work. People have to get this into their heads. A lot of people are realising it now. A lot of people who were supporting the system, and certain political people in Belfast, are realising that the British Government does not care whether one is Protestant or Catholic. It does not care whether one is unionist or nationalist as long as it can hide the truth about victims' murders. It tries to play the loyalty card for people and for victims by saying, "Remember who supports you". Speak to any victims and we will say quite clearly that the state has done anything but support us. It has helped to cover up and has offered no assistance in any way whatsoever. I am talking about assistance to get justice. It is not those MPs who are going to tell us the truth or find out the truth for us. Yet they put it across that they are the experts on the justice system. They are bringing in a system where it is no longer the courts making decisions on who is innocent and who is guilty. Now it is the Conservatives with their majority who will decide what is a crime and what is not a crime. I put it to Mr. Hazzard that this makes a total mockery of the system. One can get fined for not having a TV licence but one cannot be investigated for murdering one, two, ten or 20 people. The families cannot have an inquest, to which they are entitled under human rights law. The British Government has signed up for all of this. Since it does not suit its agenda, it says, "You are better off not having that".

Not one of those politicians spoke to my family or any family I know. I speak with victims back in Northern Ireland, I have spoken to victims from down here in Dublin and I have spoken to victims and families of the IRA bombing in Birmingham, including Ms Julie Hambleton. They have not been consulted.

Let us ensure we do it through the legal process, or bring in a Bill making it legal. Bring in a legal process, which is really illegal itself under human rights law. I do not care. We, and all the victims, appreciate the Irish Government's challenge in Europe. We were there last year to show our victims' film in the European Parliament. I would also like to see all European Union governments that sit in Strasbourg and Brussels come together before the challenge to say, "Right, we all support the Government and we support all the victims of the Troubles, in particular we support the victims who will be affected by this legacy Bill." For me, that is a way forward.

It is not just the Irish Government but all the parliaments must become involved. No one can then turn around and say this is about a unionist victim or a nationalist victim. This is about victims. When people start talking like that, the British Government will be completely isolated and will be even bigger fools than it makes itself out to be now.

I will say this to the committee. Young Raymond's case is not going away. Of the friends who were with me last night, John Taggart, Billy McManus, and Kate Nash - Julie Hambleton was not able to come - none of their cases is going away. We will beat the British Government on the Act and on the guillotine of existing proceedings. We will beat it with the support and help of the Irish Government.