UK Parliament / Open data

Coroners and Justice Bill

Does my hon. Friend not see some contradiction in the fact that only recently the House passed a Northern Ireland Bill providing for the devolution of policing and justice to Northern Ireland, and yet we will have a situation where a devolved Justice Minister, who will have the coroners courts and so forth under their responsibility, will be in the invidious position of being completely bypassed by a Secretary of State who issues a certificate that removes a jury or instructs that part of an inquest be held in absolute secrecy? That Justice Minister and devolved Assembly will then say, "This has absolutely nothing to do with us. We are just the devolved authority and Minister." Does that not test the credibility of devolution in a most sensitive manner?
Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
490 c100 
Session
2008-09
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
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