Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Bill

My hon. Friend misrepresents the Government, because we made it clear at the time when the statement to which he refers was made that this was an issue that would require further thought, and we have given the matter further thought. Indeed, we have consulted on that, and it is as a result of those consultations and further deliberations that we come now with a proposal to reverse the presumption in favour of trial by jury but in those few cases that will still require a trial by judge alone to ensure that there is the facility within the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland to deliver that. We say yes to a very high test and yes to a certificate by the DPP, but in a way that will enshrine a proper system of justice in which we can ensure that for those jurors who might be subject to intimidation, the risk that justice would not be done, that the administration of justice would be undermined, will not be taken. It is true that the DPP, when considering against that high test whether to issue a certificate, will have to consider information that may remain private—it may be intelligence; it may be information from the police about a pending prosecution or about further investigations. Yes, there may be some information that cannot be shared. That is why we have rehearsed these arguments in Committee and that is why we have chosen the route that we have where we do not have full disclosure within a full-blown judicial process of all the information. One of the reasons why—a point made repeatedly in Committee by the hon. Member for East Antrim—is that if we do not have this measure in place, there is a danger that intelligence will not be shared at that decision-making point, and that therefore trials will go ahead with a jury that should not go ahead because of all the attendant risks. We must ensure that justice is done in every case, including in those cases where there is a real risk that the administration of justice would be undermined.