Debate contribution: Victims and Witnesses of Crime Bill: Second Stage

Debate contribution by Mr Jon Burrows on 30 June 2026.

MLA: Mr Jon Burrows
Party at the time: Ulster Unionist Party
Date: 30 June 2026
Type: Debate contribution
Business: Executive Committee Business
Heading: Victims and Witnesses of Crime Bill: Second Stage
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 5653471

Text

I agree. I rang one of the victims on the evening after the conviction and apologised. Even though I had no role over Mr Campbell, I said that I was ashamed that that man, Lloyd-Lavery, was ever employed by the party or by an MLA and ashamed that the man who gave him a character reference was a former chair of our party. That is the way in which I dealt with that. The Member is right: it compounds the trauma. The Justice Minister is right about those who commit sexual offences in particular: they are groomers. My school had Dr Lindsay Brown, the RE teacher. He was a pillar of society. He volunteered for every youth event, gave money to charity, was the most overtly pleasant person and made himself indispensable to the community, yet he was abusing my friends. Look: those people have two faces. Character references really need to be fully examined. In summary, I support the Bill in principle. We need to champion victims and witnesses. We need to ensure that we recalibrate our justice system so that it gives the right protection to victims and witnesses. A lot of things can be done without the expense of even impinging on a suspect's rights. It is often about how things are done; for example, the make-up of the court, the room that you can sit in, the way in which you are communicated with and the support that you get. A lot of it does not affect the suspect's ability to defend themselves but is about the support that the victim gets through that adversarial process. It is adversarial for good reason, but there are really important things that we can do when it comes to process, the system, dealing with cross-examination, disclosure and character references. I hope that we have a victims and witnesses commissioner who is the loudest and strongest voice for victims. Finally, I will say this, and it is not a criticism of those who are in human rights groups, quangos and interest groups. In my experience, they tend to have been almost infiltrated by a lobby that is very much on the side of perpetrators' rights. They are continually advocating for the rights of the perpetrator, and I rarely hear them talk about the victim. This Bill is a necessary counterweight, and I look forward to supporting it and supporting the Minister in getting the legislation precisely right.
Yes, I will give way before I finish.
The Children's Commissioner says that the age of criminal responsibility should be 16 without exemptions, so a 15-and-a-half-year-old could shoot dead three children and not even be arrested: I find that despicable. It totally puts the rights of suspects — the murderer or the sexual abuser — way above the rights of every child that they have abused or hurt. The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission has just made an intervention on the very issue of minimum age of criminal responsibility, and the victims issue came right at the very end: "Oh, but we now need to think about victims". Victims should be at the centre. I can keep going. We could talk about the United Nations.
Mr Deputy Speaker, thank you.
Will the Member give way?

542 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Awaiting analysis

This record has not been analysed yet. It is not counted in any total until it has been assessed.

Disagree with this assessment?

Classifications can be challenged. A person reviews every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.

Challenge this classification