Clause 24
Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Bill
2:30 pm
In response to earlier debates, the Minister explained that the Army is intended to be down to garrison strength and its personnel will very rarely be on duty, which means that they will perform policing duties very rarely. On that basis, I do not know why the Bill goes to such lengths to confer policing powers. The police already get such powers under draft Police and Criminal Evidence Act codes, and the matter is already governed by common law. Like the hon. Member for Montgomeryshire, I have to ask what the justification is for going any further.