Debate contribution: Rule of Law

Debate contribution by Mr Paul Frew on 20 October 2026.

MLA

Mr Paul Frew

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

20 October 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Rule of Law

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5800986

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I beg to move

Thank you very much, Mr Deputy Speaker. I rise to present the motion to the House because the rule of law is incredibly important. It is there to set standards and, more importantly, to protect our people. We are so blessed that we live in a democracy and that this legislature, and the House of Commons, can create, scrutinise and, where they see fit, amend law. With that, however, there is an extra special onus on those who are privileged to make and scrutinise law. There are many types of democracy and democratic frameworks but the most important aspect of democracy is that when the people give power to others — political parties, Prime Ministers, First Ministers or anyone else for that matter — the rule of law will protect people from that power. That is the essence of democracy. It is not just about giving people power or giving us power to represent our people; it is about protecting our people from us, from the political parties and from the very powerful in the Chamber and the Executive who make law. That is vital in a democracy. It is about protecting the people, and that is why the people need safeguards in law and in the framework of democracy to ensure that they are safeguarded. That is why it is intolerable that someone in that privileged position would not only blatantly breach a law but encourage others to do so. That is intolerable. That says to our people that if Sinn Féin, or any other party for that matter, was to get unbridled power through the vestiges of office, the frameworks of democracy or even sovereign power in the UK Parliament or Republic of Ireland Parliament, the law would not be there to protect those people. That is what people now realise because if a political party does not respect the law, it will use the law against the people. That is exactly what we saw with the Nazi Party in 1930s Germany, when it used the law against the people after violence had occurred on the streets. That is why we have to make sure that we lay down markers when people in this House and in our Executive not only breach the law but encourage others to breach the law. It is straight out of the Nazi Party's 1930s playbook, which is why it is so dangerous. Sinn Féin has a propaganda wing that would make Joseph Goebbels blush. I have absolutely no doubt about that. There have been times in my career, however, when I have seen Sinn Féin spooked. I have been here since 2010 — nearly 17 years — which is longer than I care to remember. Sinn Féin was spooked was when People Before Profit got a seat in both of its heartlands: West Belfast and Foyle. Sinn Féin was also spooked when the SDLP went into opposition the first time around. That is why Sinn Féin pulled this place down: it was spooked. It could not tolerate a party to the left of it being in its heartlands, and it really could not stick its opposition — the SDLP — being in opposition and holding it to account. That is why this place fell the first time around. I see that Sinn Féin is spooked now because it has delivered nothing in this mandate. Ministers in other parties have delivered much, but Sinn Féin has delivered nothing. That is, ultimately, why it wants to bring this place down, but it does not want the blame for doing so. It will do everything in its power and use all that it has at its disposal, even breaching and breaking the law, to goad others, such as us, into bringing this place down.

I will progress my argument. That is why it is really important that we take time to consider everything that Sinn Féin has done — all its acts and all its breaches of the law — and allow the investigation to take its course. That is a job for the PSNI and the Public Prosecution Service (PPS). We are legislators. We do not investigate under the law or enforce the law, but we expect the arms of government and the bodies that do so to do their job diligently and without fear or favour. That is also an important point, given that we have seen Sinn Féin, like the Nazi Party, bring thousands of people out on to the streets for the sham Bobby Storey funeral. It even held an oration in a graveyard where the man was not buried. It brought thousands upon thousands out on the street, thereby breaching COVID regulations. I had no real sympathy for those regulations, yet every law-abiding citizen in this state had to abide by them.

Exactly. I thank the Member for his intervention. Those people had to adhere to COVID regulations that were barbaric. They should not have been in place, but they were. The party across the way was one of the biggest cheerleaders for those barbaric measures, yet it saw fit to slap in the face everyone who had been bereaved of a family member. Those people could not bury their loved ones and they could not have a wake for them, yet Sinn Féin rode roughshod over their feelings, their grief and their loss. That is exactly what Sinn Féin has produced over the years and that is what it keeps producing. Its respect for the law is atrocious. Even though we might not agree with the law, all of us over here abide by it. Sinn Féin thinks that it is right and proper for it to put on a masquerade and, against the law, parade thousands of people through the streets of Belfast. That tells you everything that you need to know about how it feels about the ordinary citizens of this community and this country. Action must be taken. We must see consequences. Deirdre Hargey's position on the Policing Board is untenable. The Policing Board exists to scrutinise the PSNI and promote public confidence in policing. A member who participates in and encourages an unlawful protest should not be able to take part in scrutiny of the police when she is under investigation by the police. To top it off, she has been able to ask questions about the scene and the activities around the protest in which she was involved. That is intolerable. I asked the Justice Minister to review the code of conduct for board members and to use the powers available to her to remove Deirdre Hargey if she is found guilty of having engaged in criminality. Deirdre Hargey should recuse herself from the board while that process takes place. That is only fair, and the public demand it. People who make the law and then break it —.

1,149 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Flagged Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 23 October 2026 at 12:25 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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