David Norris (Independent)

There was a certain sneering tone in some of the contributions. I wonder if Members realise how that may be regarded in the sister isle, if they ever heard of it, or in the North of Ireland. We are always cosying up to the North of Ireland, saying how nice we want to be to the Unionists. Let us really show it then.

Yesterday, the House debated the tabloidisation of news and Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles are real victims of it. We should be supporting them against people like Rupert Murdoch and The Sun. There were the "Camillagate" tapes, where a newspaper listened into a private conversation between them and published it. Those responsible should have been sent to jail. At the time, Camilla Parker Bowles behaved with great dignity and graciousness by never responding. She is a remarkable woman. Prince Charles, an intelligent and decent man, is a friend of this country. When he visited Ireland, he was made welcome. He visited here despite the fact that his great uncle was blown to smithereens by the armed wing of a political party that sits in the Lower House. Most of its activists, like their leaders are, unlike Prince Charles, descendants of the Cromwellian planters which one can see from looking at their names. Prince Charles, on the other hand, is a direct descendant of HughO'Neill and Brian Ború.

Turning to Comrade Ryan——