Coroners and Justice Bill

I should make it clear that I move this amendment not with any intention of dividing the House or, probably, of disagreeing with the Government’s position. The reason for bringing it back at Third Reading is that when we debated this on 28 October—together with our decision to abolish the common-law offences of sedition and seditious, defamatory and obscene libel in England, Wales and Northern Ireland—I then raised a question about the other common-law offence emanating from the Star Chamber, namely blasphemous libel, and pressed for that to be abolished, too, in Northern Ireland. It is a reserved matter and, therefore, one that can be dealt with only by the Westminster Parliament. The Minister kindly concluded the debate by offering to relay to the Minister of State at the Northern Ireland Office the points that I and other speakers had made. I am grateful to the Minister for having written to me on 3 November and for having met with me and his officials. It would be helpful to have him on the record with his response. I shall make a couple of points. I perfectly understand that devolution and the devolution settlement is extremely important and that, when criminal law is transferred to Northern Ireland, it will be for the Northern Ireland Assembly, subject to the general law regulating the Assembly, to debate the issue of blasphemy. The reason why it remains my belief that at this stage it would be preferable to abolish blasphemy on this side of the Irish Sea and in Northern Ireland relates to my own experience in a case in which I must declare a professional interest. I acted for the Family Planning Association for Northern Ireland against the Department of Health, seeking guidance to be given to doctors, nurses and women and girls about the lawful termination of pregnancies in common law. The Northern Ireland Court of Appeal, in a unanimous judgment, required the Government to give that guidance. After a couple of years the guidance was given, but the Northern Ireland Assembly, having received this order of the Court of Appeal and the guidance of the Government, descended into a long political wrangle, seeking to frustrate the decision of the Court of Appeal and of the Northern Ireland Department of Health. It would be regrettable, when we do not have the benefit of a Court of Appeal Northern Ireland judgment or a decision of the Northern Ireland Government, were anything similar to happen here. It would be regrettable because, south of the border in the Irish Republic, there has been a complete shambles over blasphemy whereby, owing to de Valera’s 1937 constitution, the present Government of the republic have reintroduced the offence of blasphemy by statute this summer in a most curious way, after their own supreme court decided that it was unenforceable and there to protect only the Church of England. I have two final points. First, Northern Ireland already has a very strong law on incitement to religious hatred, going back to 1987. Secondly, our rights as citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland should not vary on fundamentals according to which part of the territory we are in. That I believe to be a profoundly important conservative and unionist principle—that we do not wish to see the rights of citizens of the UK dependent on where we happen to be at any particular time. Here there are rights about freedom of religion and free speech. It would be most unfortunate if that were not to continue. I am heartened by a paragraph in the letter to me from the noble Lord, Lord Bach, in which he talks about enabling, ""a future change in the law at the appropriate time"." I seek an assurance that the Government intend, with all deliberate speed, to secure this change in Northern Ireland, taking account of any local debates and discussions. I beg to move.