Part of Orders of the Day — Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Bill – in the House of Commons at 5:30 pm on 20 June 1991.
Dr Brian Mawhinney
The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office
5:30,
20 June 1991
I beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said Amendment.
The purpose of the amendment is to clarify the powers to stop and question conferred by Clause 23. In Committee, the hon. Member for Newry and Armagh (Mr. Mallon) expressed concern that, in some instances, the power was being used effectively as a power to detain persons for longer than was necessary to question them about the matters covered by subsection (1). This is the second Lords amendment to have arisen, at least in part, as a consequence of what was said in Committee by the hon. Member for Newry and Armagh. We considered his points carefully, and subsequently tabled the amendment in Another place to ensure that the clause would not be regarded as a power to detain people for longer than necessary.
The only powers to detain persons for a significant period are those provided by clause 18—the army arrest power—and clause 94, which allows persons' movements to be restricted during a house or vehicle search. In both cases, the maximum period for which persons can be detained is four hours, unless a further period of detention is authorised by the police.
The amendment is intended as a modest safeguard. I hope that it will be welcomed by the hon. Member for Newry and Armagh and by the House.
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