Ulster Unionist Peer Lord Empey has warned that there may be no alternative to Westminster having to legislate over the head of Stormont to ensure that the National Crime Agency (NCA) is able to operate in Northern Ireland in the same way as in the rest of the United Kingdom.

Lord Empey said;

“The Counter Terrorism and Security Bill is currently passing through Parliament. The events in France last week have underlined the how some will abuse a free society and demonstrated the determination of certain terrorist groups to cause maximum disruption and promote their odious and misguided interpretation of religion.

“The Ulster Unionist Party will always support measures that will really help us fight terrorists and make their prosecution more likely. However, we are astonished that the Government asks for more laws to help it in this struggle but does not properly implement the laws it already has at its disposal.

“For a start, there are people entering the United Kingdom with substantial criminal records – indeed there are many who have simply ‘disappeared’ into the community. Murderers, rapists and people traffickers are among them. Border controls are clearly inadequate and UK Border Force is under manned and struggling to keep up.

“Furthermore, in Northern Ireland, the continuing failure to ensure that the National Crime Agency is fully operational here makes a laughing stock of the declared determination of Government to fight terrorism in all its forms.

“While HMG may argue that it can still rely on the security services in Northern Ireland, there is no effective alternative to properly co-ordinated, resourced and fully operational bodies in the struggle against ruthless individuals and groups that threaten our freedom.

“Ulster Unionists will keep up the pressure to see that the NCA is made to work properly in Northern Ireland, but there may be no alternative to Westminster legislating over the head of Stormont if more progress is not made soon. With a land border with the Republic, Northern Ireland could soon become an easy access point to Great Britain for terrorists and other criminals. That is the last thing any of us want to see, but the problem won’t go away and HMG may not be able to avoid drastic action if it is to succeed in beating these ruthless terrorists.

“We are aware that the Government is seeking compromise in a bid to allow the NCA to operate in Northern Ireland. We would remind them that it is essential that the NCA has teeth and is able to hold people properly to account, which it will not be able to do if its powers are watered down to the point where it becomes ineffective.”