1 Introduction
1. This Report on Organised Crime in Northern Ireland
has occupied the Committee for more than six months and has necessitated
a departure from normal Select Committee procedures. In most inquiries
all the evidence that a select committee receives is heard in
public session. This is a practice of which the Northern Ireland
Affairs Committee thoroughly approves and a practice which it
has itself followed in the past—and intends to follow in
the future. However, in the early stages of our consideration
of organised crime in Northern Ireland it became clear that we
would not be able to gather the evidence on which we could base
sensible conclusions and make firm recommendations unless we were
prepared to grant some of our witnesses anonymity and others the
opportunity to give some of their evidence in private session
and without a detailed transcript being made. We have, therefore,
in addition to the public evidence sessions, examined many of
our official witnesses in private session at the conclusion of
the public evidence taking. Other witnesses we have seen in private
session, or met informally during visits to Northern Ireland.
As the Report makes plain, the Committee is entirely satisfied
of the bona fides of all of those who have cooperated with
us. Again, as the report makes plain we have valued the information
that we have gathered from these private sessions and informal
meetings. We believe that it has been right to operate in this
manner and are grateful to those who have so assisted us. We
recognise that doing so has not always been easy for them.
2. The last year has seen significant progress in
Northern Ireland. On 28 July 2005, the Provisional IRA announced
that it was ceasing its military campaign. On 26th
September, General John de Chastelain, head of the Independent
International Commission on Decommissioning reported that there
had been very significant Provisional IRA decommissioning. On
30 October, the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) announced that
it was standing down its members. Whilst some in Northern Ireland
continue to have reservations about the manner and method and
precise extent of the decommissioning that took place, there is
no doubt that it did represent a significant step. In the case
of the LVF, there has been no further major announcement and the
Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) has made it clear that it is not
yet prepared to decommission. In addition, the continued activity
of some dissident republican groups and the sporadic feuding between
loyalist paramilitaries continue to cause concern. Nevertheless,
the widespread paramilitary terrorist violence that has characterised
much of Northern Ireland's recent history is no longer prevalent.
3. However, the legacy of the paramilitaries continues
to cast a shadow over the economy and society of Northern Ireland.
The Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) reported in October
2005 that "because of […] paramilitary involvement,
organised crime is the biggest long term threat to the rule of
law in Northern Ireland".[1]
The Committee accordingly decided on 26 October 2005 to undertake
an inquiry into Organised Crime in Northern Ireland, specifically
to examine:
"The nature of organised crime in Northern
Ireland, the impact of organised crime on society and the economy
in Northern Ireland, and the effectiveness of measures taken by
the Government and relevant agencies to counter organised crime."
4. In the course of the inquiry, we took formal evidence
from the law enforcement agencies, meeting representatives from
the Assets Recovery Agency, HM Revenue and Customs and the Police
Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). We are particularly grateful
to Sir Hugh Orde, Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern
Ireland, and the officers of the PSNI for their ready cooperation
at all stages of our inquiry. We also took formal evidence from
organisations representing sectors of the economy in Northern
Ireland affected by organised crime. We are grateful to the CBI
Northern Ireland, the Federation of Small Businesses, the Freight
Transport Association, the Road Haulage Association Limited and
the Federation of the Retail Licensed Trade for giving oral evidence
to the Committee in Westminster.
5. We discussed matters pertinent to organised crime
with the Rt Hon Peter Hain, MP, the Secretary of State for Northern
Ireland, on 26th October 2005 and 10th May,
2006.[2] We also took formal
evidence from Mr Paul Goggins, MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary
of State at the Northern Ireland Office with responsibility for
Policing and Security, who is also the Chairman of the Organised
Crime Task Force (OCTF).
6. In the course of the inquiry, we visited Dublin
in January 2006 to assess the success of cross-border cooperation
between law enforcement agencies in Northern Ireland and the Republic
of Ireland. We are very grateful to Stewart Eldon, HM Ambassador
to Dublin, for the warm welcome that he extended to the Committee
and the support that the Embassy provided in arranging the visit.
We held discussions with Mr Michael McDowell, TD, Minister for
Justice, Equality and Law Reform, and Mr Dermot Ahern, TD, Minister
for Foreign Affairs and we were particularly grateful to An Taoiseach,
Mr Bertie Ahern TD for finding time to meet the Committee. We
also met officers of An Garda Siochana, including the Criminal
Assets Bureau, and officials of the Revenue Commission. We were
impressed with the close cooperation at all levels between law
enforcement agencies on either side of the border. We also received
evidence from officers of the law enforcement agencies on both
sides of the border of the cross-border nature of much organised
crime. It was apparent that any measures to combat fuel and cigarette
smuggling, and intellectual property crime in particular, must
always be based on cooperation between the PSNI and An Garda Siochana.
We note at paragraphs 65 to 68 that criminal links are not restricted
to the island of Ireland, but extend across Europe and beyond.
This requires close cooperation between the law enforcement agencies
in all relevant countries and with international law enforcement
agencies such as Europol and Interpol.
7. We have also made visits to Northern Ireland
in the context of the inquiry, travelling to Newry, Newtownhamilton
and Crossmaglen with officers of the Police Service of Northern
Ireland, and have received briefings from PSNI officers at Knocknagoney,
Belfast. We observed the difficulties facing policing in South
Armagh, and commend the courage and dedication of the officers
of the Police Service of Northern Ireland who are working hard
to deliver normal policing in the area. Efforts to combat organised
criminal activities are particularly difficult in areas in which
the police do not have the support (as a result of the influence
of loyalist or republican paramilitaries) that they have the right
to expect. It seemed clear to us following our visit to South
Armagh that the lack of support from elected Sinn Fein councillors
and Members of Parliament seriously hindered the efforts of the
PSNI.
8. We also visited the distribution centre in Belfast
of Bondelivery, which had suffered regular attacks by organised
gangs and opportunistic criminals. We had been invited to Bondelivery
by Mrs Val Smith, former National Chairman of the Road Haulage
Association Limited and Manager of Bondelivery, when she gave
formal evidence to the Committee. We appreciate the trouble taken
by Mrs Smith and her staff to outline the nature of the threat
faced by the distribution centre. Mrs Smith has subsequently provided
the Committee with a copy of Bondelivery's log of the security
incidents that have taken place involving her company's vehicles
since December 2002 in amplification of her public and informal
evidence.
9. We have held a number of private unrecorded sessions
and informal meetings in the course of the inquiry. We met the
IMC and representatives of the Petrol Retailers Association. We
received a briefing from officers of the Serious Organised Crime
Agency (SOCA). In Belfast we met a representative of the construction
industry who briefed us privately on the levels and extent of
extortion in the construction sector. We are also particularly
grateful to the representatives of construction firms who met
us informally in Westminster to give their accounts of their experiences
of being threatened with extortion. In Belfast, we met members
of families of victims of attacks by organised criminal gangs,
in which paramilitaries had played a leading role.
10. We would like to thank all those who helped in
the organisation of our visits, all those who gave evidence to
us in formal session, those we met in private and those who submitted
written evidence. Mr David Watkins, our Specialist Adviser, has
given invaluable help throughout the inquiry, and we are much
in his debt.
1 Seventh Report of the Independent Monitoring Commission,
HC 546, paragraph 5.2. Back
2
HC (2005-06) 621 and HC (2005-06) 1107 Back
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