Lord Weir of Ballyholme (DUP)

My Lords, I join others in welcoming the first stage of this very important report into an appalling scandal which has blighted so many lives and which we know has, sadly, actually cost lives as well. Sometimes we are faced with a scandal, such as we debated yesterday, that has been caused by a single cock-up. That is not the case here. There have been years, if not decades, of conscious decisions leading to culpability. It is right, as we move ahead with this inquiry, that those who are culpable are held directly to account, so I welcome the Government’s opening of discussions with Fujitsu. While we cannot, at this stage, work out the quantum of the compensation Fujitsu owes, will the Government give an assurance that should Fujitsu, or indeed anyone else that is culpable in this situation, either not produce compensation or offer an inadequate compensation package, they are prepared to take action to compel those who are culpable to provide compensation? Further, will the Government give an assurance that whatever sum of compensation is provided by Fujitsu or anyone else, it will not be at the expense of calling off criminal prosecutions? Will they ensure that those who have committed criminal acts are ultimately held responsible for their behaviour?