Steve Baker tells Gregory Campbell Irish unionists born after 1949 are ‘not British citizens and must naturalise’

The East Derry MP acknowledged many unionists now carry Irish Passports to facilitate ease of movement throughout Europe.

However, he raised the plight of Irish unionists – including, famously, his party colleague, the cross-bench peer Willie Hay – who face very high costs if they wish to travel on a British Passport.

“The Irish Government took action because they regard citizens on the island of Ireland as Irish citizens, if they choose to be so regarded.

“Unfortunately, our Government have not done the same. There are those who are resident in Northern Ireland, and have been for decades, who must be able to do the same for a British passport as those who choose to be Irish can do for an Irish passport, yet they are not permitted to do so,” Mr. Campbell told MPs.

He pointed out how under UK law ‘anyone born before 1949, when the Republic of Ireland left the Commonwealth, who wishes to become a British subject can do so, but anyone born after 1949 cannot’.

This applies to the former Stormont Speaker who was born in Milford in 1950 and is thus not automatically entitled to a British Passport. The DUP grandee has consistently called for the British government to address this.

Mr. Campbell specifically mentioned the case of Willie Hay this week.

“That means that if someone were born in the Republic in 1950 and the day after their birth moved to live in Northern Ireland, became a UK resident, grew up and became a UK taxpayer and UK voter – in one famous instance they sat in the British establishment of the House of Lords – they would still not be regarded as a British citizen, because they were born at the wrong time,” he remarked.

Mr. Campbell added: “The issue at the moment is that some people have an Irish passport because they need it to travel, but they would prefer to have a British passport.

“The Home Office in effect say to them, ‘Just naturalise. Just pay the £1,330 to get what is your right.’

“If they go on to the Home Office website…the first page reads: ‘Check if you can become a British citizen’. They already are! That is what they demand.

“That is what they have been for decades, and then the Home Office says to check if they can become a British citizen. There is nothing more insulting or demeaning than to have that on the Home Office website. It tells them, ‘Well, of course you can avail yourself of British citizenship, now trot along and fill out the necessary form. Then apply for the passport and you will get one.’

“Meanwhile, the neighbour in the house next door—or, in some cases, family members who were born at a different time—may want to have an Irish passport and may never even have visited the Irish Republic.

“They simply go along to the post office and ask for an Irish passport application, fill it out and attach the necessary fee, and an Irish passport comes in the post. The Irish Government have declared that they are prepared to recognise those people as Irish if they choose to apply for a passport. We want our Government to do exactly the same.”

Responding to Mr. Campbell’s concerns the Minister of State at the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) Steve Baker said that Irish unionists born after 1950 are ‘not British citizens and need to naturalise’.

Mr. Baker said he recognised the unique circumstances of the north but said there were other residents of the United Kingdom who also ‘may or may not have British citizenship or a British passport’ including members of the ‘Windrush’ generation – those who arrived in Britain from the Caribbean between 1948 and 1971.

“The hon. Gentleman will remember some of the unfortunate circumstances of the Windrush affair, and there are other people who have had various difficulties. There are people in my constituency who, although they were born elsewhere, have lived there longer than I have been alive,” he said.

Referring specifically to the case of Irish unionists born in the 26 counties, Mr. Baker stated: “The crux of the matter is that an Irish national can naturalise in the same way as any other long-term resident who now considers the UK their home.

“I appreciate that at the heart of the sensitivity is the fact that people who identify as British, who were perhaps born not far from the border, but on the other side of it, are being told that they need to naturalise.

“He made the point clearly that for those who are British but were born on the other side of the border, this is a matter of utmost sensitivity.

“The Government are treating those people—from an administrative point of view, they are not British citizens and they need to naturalise—in line with other nationals who reside here in the UK.

“We are glad that they feel at home here. We are of course glad that they identify as British—that they choose to be British—and we welcome them.

“The hon. Gentleman mentioned the case of our noble Friend in the other place. In order to ensure that we treat everyone in the UK fairly, they need to naturalise to make their nationality align with their identity,” he said.