Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Bill

My Lords, I beg to move that this Bill be now read a second time. The Bill is set in the context of huge progress in Northern Ireland. The Sinn Fein ard fheis secured support for policing and justice; that certainly was a momentous moment. Support for policing is now in place. We have already seen the practical benefits on the ground, with Sinn Fein encouraging republicans to talk to the police. Indeed, I understand that, yesterday, Gerry Kelly attended and participated in a conference organised by the police in Northern Ireland. The latest Independent Monitoring Commission report confirmed the Provisional IRA’s commitment to an exclusively political path. We find ourselves on the brink of restoring the power-sharing institutions, with the previously inconceivable prospect of Sinn Fein and the Democratic Unionist Party sitting down together in government. Everyone knows that elections will be held on7 March; that is only just over two weeks away. We fully expect that power-sharing will follow by the deadline of 26 March. That date will not change. If it is not met, the chance will be lost for a generation. We therefore expect—and, I think, can demand—Northern Ireland politicians to continue to show the leadership that they have indeed shown up to this point. This Bill is part of the positive process of change. The security situation in Northern Ireland has changed beyond recognition. Just last week, the Armed Forces started demolishing the last watchtower in south Armagh. Watchtowers are coming down and, as anyone who visits Northern Ireland will see, new offices and apartment buildings are going up all over the place. Ever more ambitious building projects are announced in Belfast. There is a peace dividend. This Bill is about reflecting those changes that people have seen to their everyday lives. What was appropriate for the 1970s is not appropriate today. The Bill therefore provides for a return, for the first time in nearly 40 years, to the presumption of trial by jury. As in the rest of the United Kingdom, jury trial in Northern Ireland will be the norm. However, despite this progress and optimism, there remains a threat that is particular to Northern Ireland. Some people remain wedded to the conflict of the past. A small number—they are a small number—of paramilitaries in the form of dissident republicans, and some loyalists, continue to blight communities. They clearly resent the success that has been achieved in Northern Ireland and want to undermine democracy, progress and the stability that comes from them. Inthe face of this threat, the safety and security ofthe people of Northern Ireland will always be the overwhelming priority for the Government. Given the chance, some people in Northern Ireland would seek to intimidate juries and therefore escape justice. For these reasons, the Bill provides for juror anonymity and restrictions on the disclosure of personal information about jurors. It also abolishes the defendant’s right to peremptory challenge, bringing Northern Ireland into line with England and Wales. As in England and Wales, guidelines restricting the exercise of the prosecution’s right of stand-by and the exercise of jury checks will ensure that there remains equality of arms. Other juror protection measures will be pursued administratively. These include better routine checks to identify disqualified jurors and making better use of screening of jurors from the public gallery. However, we recognise that these measures on their own are not sufficient to ensure that justice is done. The Bill therefore provides for a new system of non-jury trial, for use in a small number of exceptional cases. The Director of Public Prosecutions will be able to issue a certificate for non-jury trial, having taken the decision against a two-part statutory test. Importantly, the second part of that test states that there must be a risk to the administration of justice. We hope that the new system will see a continued reduction in the number of non-jury trials. We recognise that there is a legitimate public interest in this issue, so an annual statement on the number of non-jury trials in Northern Ireland under the new system will be made to Parliament. The system of non-jury trial will complement the Criminal Justice Act 2003. If a case does not meet the test in the Bill, which is focused on the particular circumstances of Northern Ireland, it will still be possible to apply to the court for a non-jury trial under that Act. The summer of 2006 was the most peaceful marching season for many years. Recognising increasing normalisation, the Armed Forces will take a different role in Northern Ireland from 1 August this year. Routine military support to the police will cease. However, the military will remain available for certain specialised tasks in support of the civil authorities, consistent with its role in the rest of the United Kingdom; for example, in the conduct of search and rescue operations. Additionally, while the Armed Forces are not responsible for maintaining national security in the UK, they provide focused support in this area to the civil authorities. As envisaged by the Patten report, the police will be able to call on military support for public order situations if they require it. To provide this support, the military needs some limited statutory powers,as Northern Ireland remains a unique operating environment. Therefore, powers of entry, search, arrest and seizure, necessary for the military to carry out its role effectively, are included in the Bill. Without them, a soldier would have no more powers than the man in the street. It is necessary also to provide additional powers to the police in recognition of the different operational circumstances in which they work compared to the police in England and Wales. We have sought to ensure that the powers are the minimum necessary for the police and Army to operate effectively and include appropriate safeguards. An independent reviewer will review operation of the legislation, and his or her reports will be laid before Parliament. Powers no longer necessary may be permanently removed from the statute by virtue of a power in the Bill. Normalisation means a society that respects human rights; therefore, it continues to be important to provide the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission with appropriate powers to fulfil its role in protecting and promoting human rights. Following consultation, we have decided to enhance the commission’s powers by providing it with powers to compel evidence, access places of detention and rely on the European Convention on Human Rights when initiating judicial proceedings. The commission already has the power to carry out investigations. A power to compel evidence and access places of detention enhances the effectiveness of these investigations. Giving the commission the power to rely on the European Convention on Human Rights in judicial reviews allows it to bring important test cases to clarify points of law in situations when it would not be appropriate for an individual victim to do so. The Bill will ensure that these powers are both used appropriately by the commission and complied with fully by public authorities. The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee and the Independent Monitoring Commission have highlighted the problems of organised crime in the private security industry in Northern Ireland. The Bill will bring Northern Ireland into line with arrangements in the rest of the United Kingdom. The remit of the Security Industry Authority will be extended to Northern Ireland. This regime will put greater checks on the industry to ensure that those who work within it are properly qualified and fit to do so. This will lead to higher standards in the industry and increase competitiveness for Northern Ireland companies. However, both the Security Industry Authority and private security companies will need time to prepare for the change. That is why the Bill also contains an interim regulatory regime to bridge the gap between the current arrangements and the future. The interim scheme builds on the current arrangements. It is designed to bear down on the problems of criminal activity in the industry as well as paramilitary exploitation. The Bill includes a further model for devolution of policing and justice in Northern Ireland. The model provides for an elected Minister and deputy Minister and was devised following discussions with the Northern Ireland political parties. It represents, in the Government’s view, the model most likely to achieve broad acceptability among the parties in the event that they prove unable themselves to agree a model. This model can therefore be implemented either by a decision of the Assembly, which would be a preferred choice, or by an Order in Council brought forward by the Secretary of State. This is a precautionary measure to ensure that any failure to agree on a model on the part of the Assembly does not stand as a barrier to further progress towards the May 2008 target for devolution as set out in the St Andrews agreement. I repeat that this model has been devised and brought forward following discussions with the Northern Ireland political parties. I assure the House that the power is not intended to trump or supersede the will of the Assembly. Our preference is for the Assembly to do it. There are some other minor but worthwhile changes in the Bill. A number of organisations have been added to the remit of the Chief Inspector of Criminal Justice in Northern Ireland. A technical change is being made to legal aid arrangements to provide maximum flexibility in the granting of publicly funded legal representation. The Bill also enables the renaming of resident magistrates helping to deliver one of the recommendations of the Criminal Justice Review. To conclude, the Bill marks a staging post on Northern Ireland’s continued transition to normalisation and the journey towards the devolution of policing and justice. It ensures that, while recognising progress, we do not ignore the threat that still exists. I commend the Bill to the House. Moved, That the Bill be now read a second time.—(Lord Rooker.)