Mr. Mark Thompson:

It is my understanding that if they are found to have lied, it will be rescinded and there will probably be a sentence. The problem with this legislation, in our experience of dealing with legacy over a number of decades, is that it will favour one set of actors only. It will be those who wore a state uniform or those who were employed by the state within illegal paramilitary organisations. Down the years, I have spoken to a number of police officers who worked there. John Stevens, who investigated collusion over three inquiries, spoke to me and a lawyer in Belfast about the 210 people he arrested during his extensive inquiries. These were the largest police investigations in British history, and this part of the jurisdiction falls under that. It was the largest police investigation in British history only until the point of the 7/7 bombings in London. He said that of the 210 people he questioned under caution, either attending voluntarily or under arrest, 207 were participating state agents within paramilitary organisations. His Stevens report has never been published. That gives us an estimation of what is at play here.

The UK Government has looked at a big, macro picture. As Professor Rolston rightly pointed out, it put in all the underhanded tactics, such as hiding, burying, concealing and destroying evidence as well as hiding witnesses, prevarication, delay and obfuscation. It brought it all into this Act. If there are beneficiaries of this Act, they are principally those who wore the state uniform and worked for the state. I have a concern that we will get into the territory where this legislation could be weaponised and used in a dangerous political way. It could be used for political advantage and to preserve a particular narrative of the conflict that will accommodate a British view of the conflict. That is what has been happening in the courts with the destruction and hiding of evidence. It will continue in the same vein.

Amendments were made so that anyone who refused to co-operate when requested would be fined up to £5,000. If their review found that there was evidence of wrongdoing, they would serve their full sentence. Then, anyone who comes along can meet the threshold, which equates to an amnesty. There is the phrase "to the best of your knowledge". The most commonly used phrase during the Bloody Sunday inquiry was "I can't remember". That is the territory we are in. It is the commonly used phrase by British soldiers behind the screens of Belfast courts. If there are punitive elements in this Act, they will be weaponised to promote a state narrative, as well as to agitate and go against people who were non-state actors. That is a completely dangerous territory that I fear regarding this Act.