Clause 25
Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Bill
2:45 pm
Clause 25 takes the powers inclause 23, which we have already debated and agreed, and applies them to vehicles. The powers to stop and search a person for explosives or to stop and search someone in a car have been among the most controversial powers in Northern Ireland. They were used systematically and were seen by many as a tool for harassment because there was no requirement for reasonable suspicion. Anyone in a public place or anyone making a journey by car, whether every day for business, or for a Sunday run over the border from Derry, could be searched at any time—and that happened. Whatever justification there may have been for that in the past, when a significant number of explosions were happening in Northern Ireland, we are now at a point when the power is not necessary. Unfortunately, there are still some explosions, but the number is far less than it was.
We should not follow the logic of everything that the Government tell us about the threat of terrorism in Britain. The threat posed by al-Qaeda in Britain is far greater that that posed by domestic terrorism in Northern Ireland, yet Britain has no equivalent to the powers in clauses 23 and 25 or schedule 3. I therefore oppose the clause standing part. If people cannot justify those powers in Great Britain, given the threat of terrorism and explosions there, how can they be justified in Northern Ireland?