Clause 1 - Offences to which the Act applies
Northern Ireland (Offences) Bill
12:45 pm
The Minister has now made over a dozen references—that is only since I started counting them—to the 2000 Act. He said that this Bill uses language that is consistent with it, that it uses language that includes those offences and that it includes language that is similar. Earlier, he said that at no point does the Bill confine itself to offences that strictly and solely fall under the 2000 Act. That goes back to the phrase in parenthesis—
“(whether committed for terrorist purposes or not)”.
The Minister is still not answering that question, and the point made by the hon. Member for East Antrim still stands. The Bill, as drafted, will be anything that anyone wants to claim benefits for.