Clause 22
Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Bill
1:45 pm
Laurence Robertson (Shadow Minister, Northern Ireland; Tewkesbury, Conservative)
I beg to move amendment No. 21, in clause 22, page 17, line 5, leave out from ‘in’ to end of line 6 and insert
‘order to prevent paramilitary activity or to obtain evidence relating to suspected paramilitary activity.’.
Sir Nicholas, you are probably aware that one or two other Committee members have also been delayed by the weather. For example, the Conservative Whip, the hon. Member for North-East Milton Keynes, has been delayed.
I do not want to labour my point, as we have hada long discussion about similar amendments. The amendment deals with the provisions on entry inclause 22, which states:
“A member of Her Majesty’s forces on duty or a constable may enter any premises if he considers it necessary”.
My amendment would insert the words
“in order to prevent paramilitary activity or to obtain evidence relating to suspected paramilitary activity”.
As the hon. Member for North Down has pointed out, the clause starts by referring to a member of Her Majesty’s forces or a constable, but from subsection (2) onwards, it refers only to a constable. If the rest of the clause referred to members of Her Majesty’s forces as well, I would not have tabled the amendment. I say that because the constable has to obtain authorisation, where it is reasonably practicable to do so, from
“an officer of the Police Service of Northern Ireland of at least the rank of superintendent”.
A member of Her Majesty’s forces does not, as far as I can read, have to obtain any authorisation, so I thought it wise to suggest that we might want to strengthen the reasons for making such an entry.