Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee

A body to scrutinise matters relating to Northern Ireland was first proposed by the Proceedure Committee of the House of Commons in 1990 but it was not until December 1993 that John Major, then British Prime Minister, agreed to its establishment. This gave rise to allegations by nationalist and republican opinion in Northern Ireland that it was a concession to the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), who had longed campaigned for its establishment, in order that the UUP would support Major's Government in important parliamentary votes. In spite of these protests, its creation was agreed by a majority of the House of Commons in March 1994 and it met for the first time in May 1994. On the committee sits members drawn from the main political parties in Britain as well as representatives from those parties in Northern Ireland who take their seats at Westminster.