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Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Bill

I find these amendments attractive, and I look forward with great interest to hearing what the noble and learned Lord the Attorney-General has to say about them. I would like to speak briefly about Amendments Nos. 3, 4 and 9. Could the noble and learned Lord tell us whether, and if so in what other recent statutes, the word ““suspects”” appears in a similar context? One asks oneself what it means. I suppose it must mean, and the courts would hold that it means ““suspects on reasonable grounds”” or ““has reasonable grounds for suspecting””. The word is very loose and I wonder whether it has not been put in with a view to having something to give away in the course of the Bill’s proceedings—not an unknown stratagem, and a very sensible one. Similarly, the word ““risk”” really is tempting providence. One can say that there is a risk if something can be foreseen as possible even though it is never near probable. What exactly do the Government have in mind? Has this been used previously in a similar context? That is very important. Those are the points I wish to make at this stage. I am grateful that the amendments have been explained so lucidly and helpfully and look forward to hearing the response.