Clause 20
Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Bill
1:15 pm
Paul Goggins (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Northern Ireland Office; Wythenshawe and Sale East, Labour)
I am grateful for the opportunity to speak again, if for no other reason than to clarify one point on which I slightly misled the Committee when responding to the hon. Lady. Clause 22 applies to constables as well as to members of the Army, so we seek to confer powers specifically on members of Her Majesty’s forces only in clause 21. When part 7 lapses, they will not have any power of arrest. The Army must have that limited power of arrest and of detention for up to four hours so that they can participate effectively in what may be a difficult public order situation or a situation surrounding an explosion.
Clause 21 is only for the Army, and clauses 20 and 22 apply power equally to the police and to the Army. We want to introduce the minimum powers necessary. The specific powers in clause 20 are concerned with the ability to stop and to question. If the Committee focuses on that narrow offence, I hope that it will agree that the penalty of a fine not exceeding level 5, which is the issue under discussion, is proportionate.