New clause 5 - Equality Duty
Justice (Northern Ireland) Bill
9:30 am
Mr Des Browne (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Northern Ireland Office; Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Labour)
My hon. Friend is correct that we had a private conversation, and I endeavoured to give him a quick response to his legitimate question about whether there was a legal bar-I interpreted that to mean a legislative bar-to his proposals. I must engage him on the issue, however, because the DPP's essential function is prosecutorial. Whether or not one can restrict the application of section 75 in the way that my hon. Friend proposes is a moot point. Regardless of whether one could do so, I am concerned that such a requirement on the DPP would spill over into his decision-making function in individual cases. I do not ask my hon. Friend to solve that dilemma, but to discuss and consider it.