Clause 7 - Exemption from arrest etc.
Northern Ireland (Offences) Bill
10:15 pm
Lorely Burt (Shadow Minister, Northern Ireland Affairs; Solihull, Liberal Democrat)
The Liberal Democrats support amendments Nos. 20 to 22, which, by removing subsection (2)(b), (c) and (d), would allow entry or search to take place and would also allow for remand in custody or on bail and for fingerprints or samples to be taken. All those police powers are very important, as they help the police to build a case against a person that could result in a successful prosecution. Amendment No. 23 is important, too. By virtue of subsection (3), a person availing themselves of the scheme could not be questioned. How on earth are the police to build a case, given the provisions of the clause?
We have rather more reservations about amendment No. 19, which attempts to tie in the provisions of the Bill with the latest Terrorism Bill, by making the clause say that a person cannot be arrested or detained
“for more than 28 days”.
My reading of that is that one can arrest somebody for up to 28 days, and we are a bit troubled by that amendment. We look forward to listening to what the Minister, and possibly other Members, have to say about that.