Coronavirus: Attorney General ‘forced Executive into climbdown’ over PSNI Covid-19 approach

The Attorney General sided with the PSNI in the row over lockdown policing, forcing the Executive to climb down and amend regulations, it is claimed.

By contrast, a source close to the Executive told the News Letter last week that the Executive felt the emergency lockdown legislation it had passed was adequately clear and that the PSNI had fallen short in how it had implemented it, thus facing widespread accusations of a heavy handed policing.

As a result, the source claimed, the Executive was strongly against amending the regulations, as it feared this could give the impression that it was to blame for the row; instead, it was minded to publish its own guidance, last Friday. However what actually happened was that the Executive decided to amend the regulations, an apparent climbdown by politicians.

Asked how he had got the outcome of the Executive deliberations on the matter so wrong, the source responded: “The Attorney General forced it through. He was going to put out guidance which would have said people can travel anywhere and made the whole thing a farce. Other legal advice disagreed with the Attorney General but wouldn’t have prevented him releasing his own guidance. All executive parties took the view that it was a case of lesser evil but no one felt strongly that it was needed.” 

A second source close to the Executive affirmed a similar understanding.

“The Attorney General was indeed going to release his own legal guidance on Thursday, I think, and I believe it was pretty much what you say....” he said.

However that source believed that the regulations had been “contravening human rights” as they were originally drafted. He noted that in the end the Attorney General did not publish his guidance, but said he did not know why that had been the case.

The Attorney General John Larkin and the Executive both responded, but neither challenged the explanation that he had forced the Executive into a climbdown.

Mr Larkin said: “Decisions are taken at the Executive on the basis of proposals by Ministers. It is not the practice of the Attorney General to disclose whether or not advice has been sought or given nor the content of any advice that he does give.”

The Executive said it had committed to keep the regulations under review, resulting in a number of amendments by the Executive on Friday, though Mr Larkin was not present at the meeting.

Also on Friday, loyalist figure Jamie Bryson declared that he intends to take legal action against the PSNI over their enforcement of Covid-19 restrictions.

He said that “pre-action judicial review correspondence” has been served on the PSNI, regarding how the force has wielded its powers under the Northern Ireland Coronavirus regulations.

Mr Bryson said Phoenix Law is acting for him in the case.

“The PSNI have in my view menaced citizens by essentially making up laws that do not exist, such as informing people they are prohibited from travelling for exercise,” he said.

The PSNI did not offer any comment.

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