§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what consideration was given to the progress of the trial of John McCann, Finbarr Cullen and 633W Martina Shanahan when deciding to lay the Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order before the House on 20 October 1988.
§ Mr. BrookeMinisters decided in the early autumn of 1988 that the law in Northern Ireland relating to the so-called right of silence be urgently amended and that the draft order to which the hon. Member refers should be laid before Parliament as soon as possible after the House of Commons returned from the summer recess. The House returned on Wednesday 19 October 1988 and the draft order was laid on 20 October. At that time it was not appreciated that the three defendants in the trial at Winchester had chosen to exercise their right of silence. It was not intended that the timing of the laying of the draft order before Parliament should be relevant to anything other than the timely introduction of that order into the law in Northern Ireland.