NIQs 3 way fight
Northern Ireland questions got fairly feisty this morning, as the Tories pursued their insinuation that the DUP had done a deal with the government over the 42 day detention of terror suspects, and the First Minister and the Secretary of State crossed swords over security bases and the Maze.
Owen Patterson claimed that an "Ulster White" must be a new breed of flying pig. Shaun Woodward told him he was impugning the reputation of the "principled" DUP.
The Tory Peter Bone wanted an assurance that any proceeds from the transfer of former security bases would go to the MoD in order to bolster their efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Peter Robinson said a "deal was done" over transferring bases, not now, but back in 2003. He wanted to know when the government would make good on its promise to give the executive more bases.
The Secretary of State responded by noting that the 2003 joint declaration said "further sites might be made available". He went on to note the Executive's failure to develop the Maze which, he argued, is now jeopardising Northern Ireland's role in the 2012 Olympics.
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