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Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill

I want to take this opportunity to inform hon. Members that we have a lot of sympathy for the spirit with which these probing amendments were moved by the hon. Member for North Down (Lady Hermon). We will certainly be careful to listen to what the Government say about how they will handle and take forward the effects of the powers that will be created by the Bill. We accept that, unfortunately, there is a case for the principle of anonymous registration to protect people from being tracked down by those who have sinister intent, including, as the hon. Member for Belfast, East (Mr. Robinson) said, protecting those who have fled from domestic violence as well as the more obvious cases that people might think of in relation to Northern Ireland. However, we must be sure that the provision cannot be used and abused by people in a wider way to evade the attention or reach of lawful authorities by staying off the register or for their own convenience and privacy. We agree with the health warnings that hon. Members have issued about the Government reserving to themselves powers to do things by Orders in Council. No matter what assurances the Government give us, we must all go by form rather than by faith. Recent and current experience shows just how frustrating and, at times, insulting and infuriating the whole business of the conduct of Orders in Council can be. Although we are sympathetic to the probing amendments, we do not support them to the extent of removing the possibility of anonymous registration. We want to hear what the Government have to say and, in particular, the Minister’s strong case against the whole concept of new clause 1.