The British government has been urged by a leading Conservative not to "rush" through legislation to devolve powers to the Northern Ireland Assembly, which met for the first time on Wednesday. The call by Opposition spokesman Lord Cope of Berkeley came as Northern Ireland junior minister Lord Dubs confirmed it was aimed to have the Northern Ireland Bill on the statute book before the autumn.
During a debate in the House of Lords on the temporary extension of direct rule, Lord Cope told Lord Dubs: "I am not urging haste on the government over this Bill, because it seems to me it is an extremely important Bill which they should prepare with great care and which, I am sure, both Houses will respond to in a manner to enable it to get through properly."
Lord Dubs said: "We hope to introduce [the Bill] shortly and we hope that it will be passed by both Houses of Parliament by the end of this session." He said it would be a "very large" Bill - "and it will be quite a task for us to deal with what will be a large, complicated and complex measure".
Lord Dubs told peers: "We sincerely hope that this will be the last occasion on which the government shall need to come before the House for the renewal of the direct rule provisions." He echoed the Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair's condemnation of the "disgraceful" sectarian attacks on Catholic churches. "It is appalling that evil people have returned to this sort of activity just at the time when enormous political progress is being made in Northern Ireland," said Lord Dubs.