Clause 3 - Judicial Appointments Commission
Justice (Northern Ireland)
9:30 am
Mr Des Browne (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Northern Ireland Office; Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Labour)
I am grateful to the hon. Members for Reigate and for Montgomeryshire (Lembit Öpik) for their approach to this issue, which could have occupied us for a considerable time. As the hon. Member for Reigate said, the amendments are straightforward and self-explanatory.
Amendments Nos. 7 and 8 would prevent those who have served prison sentences or been members of proscribed organisations from being members of the Judicial Appointments Commission. I understood from the contributions of both hon. Gentlemen that everyone agrees that someone with a violent past should not be disqualified from making a contribution to society—subject, of course, to him renouncing violence. That is a fair summation of the position that the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr. Duncan Smith), the Leader of the Opposition, recently set out.
Amendment No. 8 is slightly curious, although that does not alter the debate. The amendment applies not only to those convicted of membership of a proscribed organisation, but to anyone who has been a member of such an organisation, and it is far from clear how that could be demonstrated.