TONY BLAIR'S SPEECH AT OMAGH
Full text of Tony Blair's speech at Omagh
FIRST of all can I once again express our horror and outrage and sense of grief at this terrible tragedy.
Indeed we can only guess at the extraordinary trauma that people in this town and in the towns and lands outlying it have been going through over these past few days and will go through in the future.
As I've said to some of the people I've talked to just now the condolences and sympathy and sense of solidarity is shared, not just throughout the United Kingdom and through Northern Ireland, the Irish Republic, but is actually shared throughout the world.
I also would like here, specifically and particularly, to pay tribute to the work and the dedication and the commitment of the police, the emergency services, the hospitals, the doctors, the staff, everybody who was involved in coping with the aftermath of that tragic and evil act.
I know and understand only too well what little consolation new security measures, even political progress, can be for the victims of the Omagh bomb.
But because I believe it is right and because I think, in some ways, we can make a difference, I think it is right to address these issues.
And we do have, in a real sense, a different situation for co-operation and security today.
First of all, today ourselves and the Irish Government are working more closely than ever before.
We work instead one with the other and that is a big and welcome change from the past.
Secondly, we know that we are dealing now with groups prepared to carry out outrages such as this, who have no political support, no base, no votes, no representation in any part of the community.
They are in a real sense, in the whole of the island of Ireland, outcasts from the community and people rightly expect that we will take whatever measures we can properly and legitimately to bring those responsible to justice.
These circumstances offer the opportunity to take action, provided that it is clearly defined, properly thought out and will actually improve the efficiency of the measures we can take against terrorism.
I can say to you today that the speaker has agreed to the Government's request to recall Parliament. This will be for two days, one in the House of Commons, one in the House of Lords, next Wednesday and Thursday.
This is necessary because our legal advice is that the changes that we are making are of a sufficiently serious nature that the only legally watertight and foolproof way of proceeding is to proceed by way of primary rather than secondary legislation.
To proceed simply by way of secondary legislation might be open to legal challenge and I think it is important we put that beyond doubt.
In addition, as I shall say to you in a moment, we shall use the reconvening of Parliament to put through a further piece of ant-terrorist legislation which has been fully prepared for some time but has not yet been legislated for in respect of those planning to commit terrorist acts abroad.
The changes of legislation in respect of terrorist acts carried out in the UK will mirror closely those hat are to be passed in the Irish Republic. As we've indicated to you before, some of the measures that the Irish Government proposed are already enshrined in UK law.
For example, the detention of suspects for a longer than normal period, instances when the failure of a person to mention certain facts and
a number of specific offences such as the training of people in the making and use of firearms.
However, there is a clear need now that it is plain that we are dealing with a small, wholly unsupported, wholly unrepresentative, residual group of extremists to tighten our law in relation to what is needed to secure a conviction or membership of a proscribed terrorist organisation.
These changes relating to the rules of evidence will apply to those groups hat are specifically designated.
In particular though you must and you will appreciate await the publication of the Bill for the full changes that are to be made.
In particular, however, we can say now that the law will be changed. First to allow the evidence of a senior police officer to be admissible evidence for the purposes of convicting someone as being a member of a proscribed organisation.
Secondly, to allow in collaboration of that evidence an inference of guilt to be drawn from the refusal, not merely to mention something that is then later relied upon as a defence, but to allow an inference of guilt to be drawn from any refusal to answer any relevant questions in the course of interrogation or subsequently, or indeed any refusal to co-operate with any relevant inquiry.
in addition to that, there are other matters in respect of the admissi-bility of evidence of an important nature which is still the subject of discussions with the law officers and others.
Some of these originate in suggestions that have been made to us within the last 24 hours by the Chief Constable of the RUC.
We will examine those very carefully too with a view to including those that we believe it right to do so in the legislation we propose.
It is also, as I indicated to you a moment or two ago, our intention to use this opportunity to include in the Bill legislation that will make it, for the first time, a specific offence in the UK of conspiring to commit terrorist offences outside the UK.
Such a proposition was the intention of the previous Government, has been the intention of this Government, it has been strongly pressed upon us by many states who are concerned that what they believe to be UK-base nationals of their countries using the UK to plan terrorist acts abroad.
In the wake of recent terrorist activity abroad this is a timely and right move to underscore our total commitment to defeating terrorism wherever it is plotted or executed.
As I said to you a moment or two ago, of course, measures in respect of security can be a scant consolation to those who have been the victims of this appalling terrorist outrage, but we have the determination, not just here, but" in the Irish Republic too, to take whatever measures we can to bring those responsible to justice and, more than that, we have a political process that has the overwhelming support of the majority of people everywhere.
There is no doubt at all about the desire of people here for peaceful coexistence in Northern Ireland. There is no doubt at all of their clearly expressed will that the debates and discussions that should and will form part of the political debate should be conducted by peaceful means and that the days of the men of violence must be consigned to the past where they belong.
I have seen for myself today, not merely the terrible damage that this outrage resulted upon, I have seen and I have felt too the spirit that there is here but not just in Omagh but in the whole of Northern Ireland to make sure that the future contains no more Omaghs, no more terrorist outrages, no more killings and maimings of innocent people, but that we build the future for peace and hope and prosperity that people here in Northern Ireland deserve and that the whole of the world wants to see as their future.
Thank you.
FIRST of all can I once again express our horror and outrage and sense of grief at this terrible tragedy.
Indeed we can only guess at the extraordinary trauma that people in this town and in the towns and lands outlying it have been going through over these past few days and will go through in the future.
As I've said to some of the people I've talked to just now the condolences and sympathy and sense of solidarity is shared, not just throughout the United Kingdom and through Northern Ireland, the Irish Republic, but is actually shared throughout the world.
I also would like here, specifically and particularly, to pay tribute to the work and the dedication and the commitment of the police, the emergency services, the hospitals, the doctors, the staff, everybody who was involved in coping with the aftermath of that tragic and evil act.
I know and understand only too well what little consolation new security measures, even political progress, can be for the victims of the Omagh bomb.
But because I believe it is right and because I think, in some ways, we can make a difference, I think it is right to address these issues.
And we do have, in a real sense, a different situation for co-operation and security today.
First of all, today ourselves and the Irish Government are working more closely than ever before.
We work instead one with the other and that is a big and welcome change from the past.
Secondly, we know that we are dealing now with groups prepared to carry out outrages such as this, who have no political support, no base, no votes, no representation in any part of the community.
They are in a real sense, in the whole of the island of Ireland, outcasts from the community and people rightly expect that we will take whatever measures we can properly and legitimately to bring those responsible to justice.
These circumstances offer the opportunity to take action, provided that it is clearly defined, properly thought out and will actually improve the efficiency of the measures we can take against terrorism.
I can say to you today that the speaker has agreed to the Government's request to recall Parliament. This will be for two days, one in the House of Commons, one in the House of Lords, next Wednesday and Thursday.
This is necessary because our legal advice is that the changes that we are making are of a sufficiently serious nature that the only legally watertight and foolproof way of proceeding is to proceed by way of primary rather than secondary legislation.
To proceed simply by way of secondary legislation might be open to legal challenge and I think it is important we put that beyond doubt.
In addition, as I shall say to you in a moment, we shall use the reconvening of Parliament to put through a further piece of ant-terrorist legislation which has been fully prepared for some time but has not yet been legislated for in respect of those planning to commit terrorist acts abroad.
The changes of legislation in respect of terrorist acts carried out in the UK will mirror closely those hat are to be passed in the Irish Republic. As we've indicated to you before, some of the measures that the Irish Government proposed are already enshrined in UK law.
For example, the detention of suspects for a longer than normal period, instances when the failure of a person to mention certain facts and
a number of specific offences such as the training of people in the making and use of firearms.
However, there is a clear need now that it is plain that we are dealing with a small, wholly unsupported, wholly unrepresentative, residual group of extremists to tighten our law in relation to what is needed to secure a conviction or membership of a proscribed terrorist organisation.
These changes relating to the rules of evidence will apply to those groups hat are specifically designated.
In particular though you must and you will appreciate await the publication of the Bill for the full changes that are to be made.
In particular, however, we can say now that the law will be changed. First to allow the evidence of a senior police officer to be admissible evidence for the purposes of convicting someone as being a member of a proscribed organisation.
Secondly, to allow in collaboration of that evidence an inference of guilt to be drawn from the refusal, not merely to mention something that is then later relied upon as a defence, but to allow an inference of guilt to be drawn from any refusal to answer any relevant questions in the course of interrogation or subsequently, or indeed any refusal to co-operate with any relevant inquiry.
in addition to that, there are other matters in respect of the admissi-bility of evidence of an important nature which is still the subject of discussions with the law officers and others.
Some of these originate in suggestions that have been made to us within the last 24 hours by the Chief Constable of the RUC.
We will examine those very carefully too with a view to including those that we believe it right to do so in the legislation we propose.
It is also, as I indicated to you a moment or two ago, our intention to use this opportunity to include in the Bill legislation that will make it, for the first time, a specific offence in the UK of conspiring to commit terrorist offences outside the UK.
Such a proposition was the intention of the previous Government, has been the intention of this Government, it has been strongly pressed upon us by many states who are concerned that what they believe to be UK-base nationals of their countries using the UK to plan terrorist acts abroad.
In the wake of recent terrorist activity abroad this is a timely and right move to underscore our total commitment to defeating terrorism wherever it is plotted or executed.
As I said to you a moment or two ago, of course, measures in respect of security can be a scant consolation to those who have been the victims of this appalling terrorist outrage, but we have the determination, not just here, but" in the Irish Republic too, to take whatever measures we can to bring those responsible to justice and, more than that, we have a political process that has the overwhelming support of the majority of people everywhere.
There is no doubt at all about the desire of people here for peaceful coexistence in Northern Ireland. There is no doubt at all of their clearly expressed will that the debates and discussions that should and will form part of the political debate should be conducted by peaceful means and that the days of the men of violence must be consigned to the past where they belong.
I have seen for myself today, not merely the terrible damage that this outrage resulted upon, I have seen and I have felt too the spirit that there is here but not just in Omagh but in the whole of Northern Ireland to make sure that the future contains no more Omaghs, no more terrorist outrages, no more killings and maimings of innocent people, but that we build the future for peace and hope and prosperity that people here in Northern Ireland deserve and that the whole of the world wants to see as their future.
Thank you.
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/0272
Published Date: 26-Aug-98
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