Lord Chancellor's Department

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 7:51 pm on 28 January 2003.

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Photo of David Burnside David Burnside UUP, South Antrim 7:51, 28 January 2003

I wish to make a parochial comment on behalf of my hon. Friend Lady Hermon. I am not experienced in the procedures of the House or the Select Committee system, so I do not want to walk over ground about which I feel unsure.

Criminal justice has undergone a major review in Northern Ireland since the Belfast agreement, as has policing. There are many concerns, some of which are not shared across the political spectrum in Northern Ireland, and different points of view. I believe that Select Committee membership lasts for the lifetime of this Parliament, so it is personally appropriate that an Ulster Member should sit on the Select Committee. My hon. Friend the Member for North Down is experienced in legal matters, so it would be very appropriate in this case that she serve on that Committee at a time when many more changes have been proposed to criminal justice in Northern Ireland and there is the debate about our constitutional position in relation to the Belfast agreement and the Lord Chancellor's reserved powers in our legal system.