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Terrorism (Northern Ireland) Bill

I thank hon. Members for their contributions to the debate. May I start by emphasising the importance of being consistent with Lord Carlile’s advice? We are considering the words and judgments of the man who is paid to make independent assessments, so we should think seriously about recommendations and suggestions that he puts forward, even if the Government are not inherently disposed to support them from the outset. I assure hon. Members that my dedicated belief in Lord Carlile’s contributions is not based on the fact that he was the Member of Parliament for Montgomeryshire until 1997, although that is a consideration. I understand the concern of the hon. Member for Tewkesbury (Mr. Robertson) about religious and community affiliations in a three-judge system. Nevertheless, it is fairly easy to show that we could find independent judges from across the community who would be trusted as faithful adherents to the standards and principles that we expect from the judiciary.