Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Bill

Let us take the Minister’s example. Suppose that he was sitting in the dentist’s chair, and the dentist said, ““Oh, incidentally, I’m going to be in court tomorrow and I wondered if you could do me a favour.”” If the Minister had not yet had his treatment, he would be likely to give the dentist the support that he sought. An arbitrary list of relationships, such as friend or relative, is missing the point. The only point is whether the relationship is significant in the context of the legislation. The hon. Member for Foyle (Mark Durkan) made an interesting intervention, but he underlined the reason we tabled the amendment. I suggest that the problem is that the Bill misses the point. The DPP still has to decide whether the relationship is significant in the context of the Bill, but as it is drafted he does not have to consider whether the relationship is significant under the rules. If two people are friends or relatives, that is enough to trigger the provision.