Debate contribution: Crime and Policing Bill: Legislative Consent Motion

Debate contribution by Ms Cara Hunter on 2 February 2026.

MLA

Ms Cara Hunter

Party at the time

Social Democratic and Labour Party

Date

2 February 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Executive Committee Business

Heading

Crime and Policing Bill: Legislative Consent Motion

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5356377

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I welcome the opportunity to speak in support of today's legislative consent motion. From the outset, I want to be clear that we broadly welcome the extension of the provisions in the Crime and Policing Bill to Northern Ireland. The measures will strengthen our criminal justice framework, improve public protection and ensure that people here benefit from legislative advances being made elsewhere. In that sense, the LCM is sensible and proportionate. I also acknowledge the principle underpinning legislative consent motions more generally that legislation should, wherever possible, be delivered as close to home as is practical. Devolution matters, and the Assembly should always be mindful of protecting and exercising its legislative competence. Minister, you will be mindful that I have never been on the Justice Committee. Given our debate last week, I would like to use the opportunity today to ask for some clarity on the issues of AI, online harms and deepfakes. I ask the Minister, when she makes her winding-up speech, to help us understand what the next steps will look like. It is my understanding, Minister, that the Crime and Policing Bill contains provisions to tackle the filming and distribution of non-consensual intimate imagery, including the growing and deeply concerning use of AI-generated deepfakes. As was discussed last week, that is an area in which rapidly evolving technology is causing clear and evident harm, so there is a need for robust legal protections. It is my understanding that those protections are not being taken forward through this legislative consent motion. The Minister may correct me in her winding-up speech, but, instead, the Executive propose to address the issue through amendments to her Justice Bill. While we understand and support the objective of legislating locally, there are several elements of the LCM that equally could be delivered through the Justice Bill but are being introduced via legislative consent. Any clarification from the Minister as to why, in this case, proposed amendments on non-consensual deepfake imagery are better placed in the Justice Bill, rather than by way of the legislative consent motion, would be helpful. I ask her to clarify in her winding-up speech whether it is quicker to do it in that way. What is the rationale for treating the issue differently from other criminal justice provisions in the Crime and Policing Bill that we are content to extend to Northern Ireland? Finally, I would also welcome any clarification from the Minister on what engagement she has had with the Justice Secretary on the extension of the deepfake-related provisions to Northern Ireland and whether other options were discussed. Was the question of whether it was possible to include them by way of legislative consent explored? This is not about opposing the approach that is being taken; it is more about understanding it and ensuring that we act with clarity for the public and, most important, with urgency when it comes to protecting victims of that emerging abuse.

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

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:18 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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