Mr. John Finucane:

It is good to see Ms Urwin and Mr. Brecknell, who are both very welcome. I wanted to touch on the updated position on the command paper. Our guests may be aware that since the command paper was published, there has been what has been accurately referred to as a sham process of engagement - I use that term loosely - since the summer. It came to a head this week when the Secretary of State called a meeting of the party leaders where he heard unanimously the opposition all five Executive parties have to the command paper as it stands. The contempt that was shown to the political parties in that meeting is one thing, but it pales into insignificance when we step back and see the contempt being shown to our guests' families and other families throughout society. As was referred to, this is a fairly indiscriminate attack on anybody's right to access truth and justice. What was said at the meeting was that the command paper would proceed regardless. The Minister for Foreign Affairs raised that with the Secretary of State at today's British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference, but we all wait to see what will be in the legislation when it is published.

On the impact of the legislation, our guests mentioned that there are proceedings in the High Court and a complaint before the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland. What will be the impact, not just practically on the cases but also on the families our guests represent? While there has been reference to practical steps the Government could take to help facilitate information retrieval, what do our guests ask this committee and the Government to do in the face of the legislation when it becomes public?

This is important when we talk about Jon Boutcher's operation. Jon Boutcher does not own the reports, although if I am incorrect, our guests might say so. As I understand it, his information will be passed to the chief constable. Even if he has all paths clear to access information, nobody will see that unless the chief constable so decides to publish. We need to have some degree of caution about the accessing of information being the result in itself. The result, for me, is the publication and the implementation of whatever recommendations are in that. Our guests might comment on that as well.