Member

Thirdly, I come to disclosure under clauses 13, 17, 74 and 75. I welcome clause 13’s provision for full disclosure to the legacy commission, but that commitment must be meaningful in practice. The Secretary of State retains significant powers over sensitive information, including powers that may prevent material being disclosed to families. I recognise that genuine national security considerations must be addressed, but there is an obvious difficulty where the state retains the authority to prevent disclosure of information concerning allegations of wrongdoing by its own agencies or personnel. For families who have already experienced decades of secrecy, that is not simply a question of legal procedure; it goes directly to whether they can have confidence in the independence and credibility of the process. I therefore support amendments 87 to 101, tabled by my right hon. Friend the Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell), and amendment 65 from the hon. Member for Belfast South and Mid Down (Claire Hanna). They would strengthen the scrutiny of disclosure restrictions and reduce the scope for executive interference.