Clause 1 - Guarantee of continued judicial independence
Justice (Northern Ireland) Bill
11:00 am
Mr Edward Garnier (Harborough, Conservative)
May I, along with those who have already spoken, welcome you to the Committee, Mr. Conway. I remember you as a fair Whip, and I trust that I shall enjoy your fairness in the Committee. I also congratulate the Minister—without undue flattery—on his appointment. This is the first time that I have had the chance to fence with him in Committee since he became a Minister. As a Back Bencher, he performed extremely well in debates in the Committee considering the International Criminal
Court Bill, and it was clear that he would not be long in moving from the Back Benches to the Front Bench. I did not appreciate then that I would be moving from the Front Bench to the Back Benches, but life is full of surprises.
I agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Reigate and the hon. Member for North Down (Lady Hermon) that we should try to persuade the hon. Member for Newry and Armagh to withdraw the amendment. It begins our deliberations on an unnecessarily contentious note. We have had our little dance about the programme motion, and that is probably enough. It is important to remember what we are about, which is to introduce a judicial and justice system for Northern Ireland that suits the circumstances of the Province, which I hope will remain firmly within the United Kingdom.
The United Kingdom judiciary—I include the judiciary of Northern Ireland—is famous worldwide for its independence of politics, and its freedom from political persuasion and cajolement by Government. As the hon. Member for North Down showed with her catalogue of victims, it has remained independent despite the terrorist onslaught that has been visited upon it. When I was working for Sir Nicholas Lyall, the Conservative Attorney-General, who was also Attorney-General for Northern Ireland, I came to a distinct understanding of the quality of the judiciary in Northern Ireland, of its fierce independence and of its appreciation of its duties, which it had to carry out under difficult circumstances in very troubled times.
I know that the hon. Member for Newry and Armagh means no ill will towards the current and previous holders of judicial office in Northern Ireland. He may be engaging in a debating point, but I wish that he would not because the implication of the amendment is unfortunate, to say the least. He has run his flag halfway up the mast. I urge him to pull it down again so that we can get on to the meat of the Bill.