Clause 3 - Scheduled offences
Terrorism (Northern Ireland) Bill
11:30 am
Nick Palmer (Broxtowe, Labour)
I am worried that the amendment would lead to at least the perception of discrimination between individual cases and of political interference or—to choose a less loaded word—involvement in the judicial process. If there were two similar cases, and in one case the Secretary of State decided to intervene to allow a jury trial and in another he did not, there would be a risk that the person who came off worse would complain about the result. I have sympathy with the objective, but I believe that it is risky.