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Northern Ireland Bill

The hon. Gentleman is right, and I am grateful for the correction. I do not believe that the provision would have any efficacy in a court of law. It is a moot point, but the Bill does not stand or fall on it. I am not persuaded, however, that there is a coherent reason for the inclusion of a provision that rather offensively suggests that, although it is not the case for any other political body in the United Kingdom, there is a particular opportunity and likelihood of malice in Northern Ireland. In my experience, Northern Irish politicians are some of the most generous-hearted and loving people one could hope to meet, so planning for such a failure is an offence to right hon. and hon. Members from Northern Ireland. Finally, I rather like amendment No. 6, which gives the Assembly the ability to discuss, and have an input into, Orders in Council that are made in Parliament between 15 May, when the Assembly is recalled, and any such time that a restoration order is made to restore devolved powers to the Assembly. I think that that is the right thing to do. Assembly Members should be able to have proper input into matters affecting people in Northern Ireland, for which the Assembly will ultimately be responsible and with which—significantly—Assembly Members will be elected to deal. The amendment would solve an ongoing problem that the Government accept is real. The problem is that the Orders in Council process is simply an unacceptable way to govern the Province. The amendment would also give the Assembly authority to have real decision-making input on matters that are part of its governing role, but we must be careful to stipulate that its provisions should not apply for ever. Despite Government assurances, if that happens there is a risk that deadlines will slip and that we will end up with a new and semi-operational Assembly that runs in the slightly ad hoc way that has been described. I shall be somewhat concerned if the Minister chooses to reject the amendment, as the cross-party support for it is evident. The SDLP, the DUP and the Liberal Democrats support it, and I imagine that the Conservatives will be sympathetic to it—