Clause 6 - Cancellation of certificate
Northern Ireland (Offences) Bill
6:45 pm
Sammy Wilson (East Antrim, DUP)
The amendment is self-explanatory. The clause provides that if the conditions in which the certificate of eligibility was originally granted are not met, the person’s certificate should be cancelled; however, it also allows for discretion to be exercised by the Secretary of State. We are concerned about that. Given the experience in Northern Ireland of how the Secretary of State has used his discretion in the past, the clause will shake confidence even further.
Let me give an example. One of the early release prisoners was caught many times stirring interfaith violence around Ardoyne. The police presented an unassailable case, according to the Chief Constable, that the terms and conditions of the early release had been broken. The Secretary of State accepted that and put the person—Sean Kelly—in jail, but three weeks later, as a result of political pressure to get a statement from the IRA and following widespread campaigning by Sinn Fein, including slogans written of the walls of Belfast and flags hung out from flats, the Secretary of State suddenly decided that the evidence given by the Chief Constable no longer stood. The Chief Constable continues to make it clear that the terms of the licence were broken, but the Secretary of State, for political reasons, exercised his discretion and decided, despite all the evidence and conditions laid down under the terms of early release, to override the Chief Constable and the evidence offered by the police.
The same potential for discretion exists in the clause, which is disquieting for those who have already had to swallow a massively bitter pill. Furthermore, it sends out a signal to those who might apply for a certificate that it does not matter how they behave, because their political backers will find an opportunity to put pressure on the Secretary of State to ensure that a certificate is not withdrawn, no matter how they behave. There will always be good political reasons that can be advanced to force the Secretary of State’s hand.
Given the Secretary of State’s record and what we know about those who have never repented of their terrorist ways and have never shown any remorse for their terrorism, and who will sneak back to it at every opportunity that they can get, we cannot allow that element of discretion to be left in the Bill. Our amendment removes that element of discretion and states that the Secretary of State must cancel the certificate if the conditions for the certificate have been broken,. That is important. There is no need for such discretion and removing it will ensure better behaviour on the part of those who obtain a certificate. The amendment should be accepted.