§ Miss Richardsonasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether, in view of the decisive vote in the House to bring the law on homosexuality in Scotland in line with the law in England and Wales, he will now urgently consider reforming the law in Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. Humphrey Atkins[pursuant to his reply, 28 July 1980, c. 564]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to my Friend, the Member for Macclesfield (Mr. Winterton) on 2 July 1979. There continues to be a substantial and wide-ranging body of opinion in Northern Ireland opposed to a change in the existing law. Moreover, the tradition that legislation on such issues is a matter for the initiative of a private Member rather than for Government was continued in the case of the amendment to the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill. However, the Government remain prepared to reconsider the matter in the light of future relevant proceedings including any resulting from proceedings under the European Convention on Human Rights with regard to the law in Northern Ireland on homosexuality.