SENATOR EDWARD KENNEDY (No. 2)

That this House notes with concern the decision to confer an honorary knighthood upon Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy, despite the clouds that still hang over him due to his expulsion from Harvard and his role in the events at Chappaquiddick; further notes that Senator Kennedy has consistently supported the political wing of the IRA which for many decades killed a great number of innocent civilians; further notes that he opposed the sale of US arms to the RUC at the height of the terrorist onslaught; believes that it is in extremely poor taste that Senator Kennedy is being awarded a knighthood for services to the UK-US relationship and services to Northern Ireland despite the fact that he has for many years supported the break-up of the United Kingdom and has explicitly sought to deny the wishes of the majority of people in Northern Ireland by supporting calls for Northern Ireland to cease to exist and become part of the Republic of Ireland; further notes that he offended many in Northern Ireland by calling for Protestants to go back to Britain; and calls on the Government to reconsider the conferral of his honour.