Naomi Long
East Belfast · Alliance Party · Northern Ireland
“Underneath the Facebook posts to say that he had passed away, people speculated with such comments as, "Probably high on drugs", "Probably drunk", and, "Typical boy racer". There was all of that speculation. It was hurtful to the family, and it was inaccurate.”
“There are circumstances that we need to consider and be careful of. I was told, for example, that, when the issue of good character references at trial was being looked at in New South Wales — Committee members may wish to look at this for themselves — one of the groups that opposed their removal was representative of domestic abuse victi…”
“It sets out the strategic direction adopted by the Department and key partners to tackle those appalling crimes and protect vulnerable victims of exploitation.”
“The provision seeks to provide protection, via legal advice and representation for complainants, against the use of non-relevant personal material and evidence of previous sexual history being used in the court process.”
“<BR /> <BR />On the wider issue of ensuring that a withdrawal of services never happens again, I think that most of us agree that, although everyone has the right to take industrial action, no one has the right to derail and hold to ransom the entire justice system in that way.”
“Those measures will go some way towards helping to support complainants and enable them to have input into the decision-making process about what records containing their personal and sensitive information are required to be shared with the defence.”
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“That is an important step towards balancing the rights of the defendant to a fair trial and the rights of the victim to some measure of privacy.”
“The Bill will also introduce the right of a complainant to make representations at pre-trial hearings for any applications for third party material and the right to be independently legally represented when doing so, rather than simply being reliant on objections raised by the Public Prosecution Service.”
“— for legal defence teams. I am almost out of time, unfortunately. <BR /> <BR />That issue can be a factor in many victims of such crimes deciding not to pursue a case or avail themselves of pre-trial therapy to help their recovery. Unfortunately, having looked closely at the case, it is not possible to simply ban the practice of private counselling records being made available to legal defence teams, as that would have an adverse impact on the article 6 rights of the accused. However, in the coming weeks, I will introduce a victims and witnesses of crime Bill that will contain provisions that would make significant improvements to third-party material disclosure processes, which are often used by the defence to seek access to records that contain personal information on the complainant, including counselling records.”
“However, I believe that the Department will want to do that in future mandates, as it is something on which we could lead the way. <BR /> <BR />Finally, I will move on to the issue of private counselling records —”
“However, sections 13 and 13A of the Criminal Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 1966 make it an offence to encourage or assist the suicide or attempted suicide of another person or to intend to do so. Section 13A also makes it clear that that includes situations in which a person has encouraged or assisted another by threatening them or otherwise pressuring them to take their own life. We need to reflect on that when it comes to cases of that nature. My priority, obviously, is the delivery of the existing commitments to tackle domestic violence and sexual abuse. We have not been able to progress the kind of substantive preliminary work, analysis and consultation that we would need to do to look at a specific domestic abuse-related suicide offence.”
“I encourage engagement with that process so that the proposed changes are made in a way that offers effective protection to victims, while maintaining access to justice, where needed. <BR /> <BR />I want to mention the case of Michelle Downey in particular and the issue of suicide in the context of domestic abuse, which was raised by Gerry Carroll. I know Michelle's mum and am aware of the tragic circumstances in which Michelle passed away. The devastating impact of domestic abuse-related suicide is significant. I recognise the impact that it has on everyone who is affected. At this point, there is no specific offence in any part of the UK for causing or encouraging suicide through domestic abuse or coercive control.”
“<BR /> <BR />I have heard concerns expressed repeatedly by victims of domestic abuse whose former partners have sought to use the legal system as a means of perpetuating financial, economic and emotional abuse. In particular, there is an issue with repeated applications for contact being made to the courts, often by a partner and often funded through legal aid, when the partner who has been abused is working. I find that abuse of the legal aid system to be particularly offensive, so, in a parallel engagement process on legal aid merit testing, I am seeking views on new ways to constrain the use of legal aid for repeated and vexatious applications of that kind.”
“Means testing is necessary for legal aid in order to ensure the protection of public funds. Given that the waiver exists, however, it seems to me that there is no need to do the means testing before granting the waiver; it is simply to establish that there has been domestic abuse, so I think that it could be simplified. It is in response to such comments that I decided to take it forward and take further action in that space. <BR /> <BR />I am keen to take in the views of as many stakeholders as possible during the engagement period, and I encourage people to contact us before 20 May, which is when the consultation ends, about how the new certificates can be as effective as possible.”
“<BR /> <BR />Legal aid is available without regard to income for anyone who needs to apply for the protection of a non-molestation order or to defend an application for contact with children from their former abusive partner. Despite that, many people continue to pay privately for representation in such cases, and few make use of the waiver to apply for the support to which they are entitled. I am determined to fix that issue, and so, as part of the current engagement exercise on legal aid means testing, I am asking for views on a potential new form of legal aid certificate for victims of domestic abuse to provide access to a comprehensive package of legal support that would be accessible through a fast and simple application process.”
“My Department will continue to work collaboratively with the Department of Health to deliver, via the strategic oversight board, outcomes under the domestic and sexual abuse strategy, including in response to priority issues. However, the provision of core grant funding to Women's Aid, for example, is ultimately a matter for the Minister of Health, and responsibility for provision of refuges falls to the Department for Communities. To date, however, I have taken action to ensure that the money that I invest in the community and voluntary sector to provide services has been ring-fenced and protected, despite the pressures on my budget.”
“The Department has contracted ASSIST NI to deliver specialist advocacy services for high-risk and high-harm victims of domestic and sexual abuse in Northern Ireland. Alongside the Department of Health and the Department for Communities, the Department funds Nexus to provide and manage the 24-hour domestic and sexual abuse helpline. <BR /> <BR />My Department also funds the sexual offences legal adviser scheme, which includes the child sexual offences legal adviser scheme, to provide legal advice and support to adult and child victims of serious sexual offences, as well as a registered intermediary scheme that provides support for those with communication difficulties. <BR /> <BR />There has been discussion in the Chamber today about support for voluntary organisations.”
“Under the Gillen programme, the Department has introduced two new remote evidence centres that allow vulnerable victims and witnesses to provide evidence to the court from a remote location where they will not encounter the defendant or their supporters. We are also working towards replacing existing multi-agency risk assessment conference (MARAC) structures with the new domestic violence and abuse risk response (DVARR) structure, which will strengthen the response in high-risk cases of domestic abuse and, hopefully, keep people safer. <BR /> <BR />The lessons learned from domestic homicide reviews and, indeed, other independent reports such as the one that I launched today are being embedded not just within Justice but across agencies to improve safeguarding and to prevent future harm.”
“<BR /> <BR />With regard to the amendment, I support calls for a trauma-informed response in the justice system. I have said on many occasions that legislation alone is not enough to tackle the scourge of domestic abuse and that that cannot be achieved by one Department. It must be done in collaboration across government in conjunction with delivery partners and with the support of wider society. Forcing any victim of domestic or sexual violence or abuse into contact with the perpetrator is unacceptable and not trauma-informed. <BR /> <BR />We have taken lessons from best practice and multiple reviews, such as the Gillen review, to develop a better, more trauma-informed response.”
“I assure Members that, while the pace of that work has been impacted on by competing priorities and lack of resources, a good deal of the preparatory work has been completed. Subject to emerging priorities and securing the necessary funding for the court-appointed legal representatives who are required to enable implementation, the Department is working towards commencing the provisions later this year. <BR /> <BR />The implementation of the 2021 Act, together with other developments under the domestic and sexual abuse strategy, reflects the fact that domestic abuse is now rightly prioritised across the criminal justice system as a significant issue. It has huge impact, given the harm encountered by victims, and accounts for about a fifth of PSNI-recorded crime: 19·2% of crimes recorded by the police in 2024-25.”
“Court rules in operation since the end of 2022 enable the court to direct the use of special measures for victims of domestic abuse to allow them, for example, to give evidence from behind a screen or by live link from a location outside the courtroom. Indeed, the domestic abuse contest cases trial that has been run in the remote evidence centre has shown significant improvements in rates of conviction, which now consistently sit at 92% of those cases. <BR /> <BR />The implementation of the provision for the prohibition of cross-examination in person in family proceedings requires the preparation of guidance and the making of a number of pieces of secondary legislation.”
“As with existing civil protection orders, it is intended that a breach of a domestic abuse protection order (DAPO) will be a criminal offence. The Department continues to develop the detailed policy and operational model for that in partnership with the PSNI and other justice partners and to develop the necessary regulations to enable the introduction of the measures in this jurisdiction. The Department is working towards the commencement of a two-year pilot in the latter half of the 2026-27 financial year. <BR /> <BR />In relation to procedural safeguards for parties in family cases, the Domestic Abuse and Civil Proceedings Act enhances protections for victims of abuse giving evidence in family proceedings by making provision for the prohibition of cross-examination in person and for the use of special measures.”
“My Department is also progressing the introduction of domestic abuse protection notices and orders, which will provide, hopefully, additional protections for victims of domestic abuse. That work has taken some time to ensure that the model is fit for purpose and is tailored to meet the needs of Northern Ireland. However, work with justice partners is well progressed towards the development of a police-led pilot model informed by learning from other jurisdictions. The measures will provide a range of protections. Crucially, they will remove the onus on the victim to make an application, and they will provide powers to direct positive interventions in suitable cases that are aimed at addressing abusive behaviours.”
“That is important because it shows that the legislation is beginning to achieve its core purpose of ensuring that domestic abuse is properly recognised and reflected in and addressed by the justice response. <BR /> <BR />In addition to introducing domestic abuse as an offence and including provision for psychological abuse and coercive control within that offence, the Act brought about further improvements across the system that are making a tangible difference to victims. The Act established a statutory basis for the sharing of information between the PSNI and schools through Operation Encompass in circumstances where a child has been impacted by domestic abuse the evening before. That assists school personnel to respond quickly and appropriately to that child's needs.”
“That Act, which came into operation in February 2022, gave effect to a major reform of how domestic abuse is understood and responded to in the justice system. The 2021 Act made provision for a new domestic abuse offence that has allowed the law to move beyond viewing domestic abuse as isolated incidents to recognising patterns of coercive and controlling behaviour and, importantly, placing much clearer emphasis on the impact of domestic abuse on children in the wider family context. There is evidence that the domestic abuse offence is being used more frequently and that the domestic abuse aggravator is now more routinely applied in prosecutions.”
“I also stand ready to work collaboratively with my ministerial counterparts in Finance and Health and others, where opportunities arise to improve the family justice system on a cross-cutting basis. That is why I have welcomed the establishment by the Commissioner Designate for Victims of Crime of a multi-agency family court pilot task and finish working group. That group is bringing together a range of organisations, including some of our partners in the voluntary and community sector, to scope the feasibility of piloting an alternative private family law model for Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />The motion highlights the fact that coercive control falls within the definition of abusive behaviour in the Domestic Abuse and Civil Proceedings Act (Northern Ireland) 2021.”
“That has been a recurring theme in recent research, as has the way proceedings in family courts can be weaponised by controlling individuals seeking to continue to abuse their former partner following separation. <BR /> <BR />I should note, though, that responsibility for family justice is shared across several Departments. My Department is responsible for matters relating to court procedure, provision of administrative support to the courts and legal aid. Policy responsibility for substantive private and public family law sits elsewhere, mainly within the Departments of Health and Finance. While, in reality, my Department has few levers to effect substantive change to family law, I am committed to bringing forward improvements to the family justice system in relation to the matters that come within my Department's responsibilities.”
“I thank the Members who tabled the motion as well as all those who participated in the debate. <BR /> <BR />The motion draws attention to how perpetrators may seek to use the family courts, in particular, as a way of continuing such abuse. I was speaking to the former Justice Minister in Québec, where they refer to it as "judicial abuse", wherein the judicial processes are used to inflict additional abuse, so this is not unique to Northern Ireland or to our system. As Justice Minister, I am frequently contacted by people about their personal experience of the family courts. Many find it traumatic, challenging and frustrating. All too often we see a clear intersection between domestic abuse and family court proceedings.”
“On those protections that are partially implemented, the context of what that means needs to be understood. Many are being fully implemented at this time. The reason that they are referred to as "partially implemented" is because they cannot be mainstreamed until the funding is there, so they are there on a year-by-year basis, depending on annual funding. It is not that they are not available to people to access. It is simply that we cannot provide continuity and certainty about the future.”
“Does the Member agree that it is somewhat shocking that, after those women met me and mentioned that, I was served with a solicitor's letter that stated that family proceedings cases are entirely private and that I and, indeed, those women may have been somewhat in breach of the law for even discussing their experience in court, despite the fact that they did not disclose any of the details of their cases? That shows the degree to which some people will go in order to silence those women's voices.”
“I look forward to the point at which we no longer need to table these extensions as a routine.”
“I thank Members for their contributions to today's debate. I will not stray into the issues raised by the Committee Chair as an individual MLA. I will leave that to Baroness Hallett because the COVID inquiry will no doubt come up with some very robust recommendations. However, the importance of making live links available to those who find themselves, often through no fault on their part, engaged or compelled to engage in the justice system must not be underestimated. They can provide an avenue of communication that can reduce stress and other pressures that participation in a court hearing might bring. Furthermore, the system has a significantly positive impact on the efficiency of the justice system. <BR /> <BR />In closing, I record my thanks to Members for their support for the motion.”
“Importantly, there remains support from court users, in particular those who advocate for victims of crime, for that avenue of participation to be available, subject to judicial approval, for those who prefer not to attend court in person. The use of such provisions aligns with commitments made or reflected in the Victim Charter. I therefore commend the order to the Assembly for approval.”
“<BR /> <BR />Although the pandemic is a significant material factor, it is not the only issue creating a backlog of cases. Other factors include limited options for increasing case throughput by stakeholders and industrial action by other players in the criminal justice system, as well as the usual, ongoing financial pressures. In that context, the Magistrates' Court and the Crown Court depend on the continued ability of the system to hold remote hearings. As part of that system, the bespoke justice video platform (JVP) was completed in mid-November 2025, replacing SightLink. There is currently a consistent level of video-conferencing connections, totalling approximately 15,000 per month.”
“The median number of days taken for a case to be completed in all courts from the date on which an offence was reported until it was dealt with was 189 days in 2024-25, up 26·8% from 149 days in 2019-2020. It reached a high of 226 days for cases dealt with in 2021-22. For cases at the court stage, the most recent management information, which is from January 2026, indicates that there were 11,808 defendants' cases at that stage in the criminal justice system compared with 7,269 in March 2020. Based on current disposal rates, it is anticipated that the backlog will not be cleared until beyond 2026. Taking account of those statistics, although progress is being made, I can say that there remains a substantial percentage of cases that have been in the Crown Court and the Magistrates' Court for more than three years.”
“For example, the total number of live Crown Court cases from the point at which a person is charged or informed has risen as a result of the pandemic, from 940 cases on 1 March 2020 to 1,672 cases on 1 January 2026, which is up 77·9%. For adult Magistrates' Court cases from the point at which a person is charged or informed, the number of cases has also risen, from 25,604 cases on 1 March 2020 to 30,736 cases on 1 January 2026, which is up 20%. <BR /> <BR />Despite the considerable efforts made to have an impact on the number of active defendants, there remain, compared with pre-COVID rates, 62·4% more defendants. Within that total, there are approximately 85·4% more defendants in the Crown Court and approximately 59·2% more defendants in the Magistrates' Court, both adult and youth, than there were on 1 March 2020.”
“During the pandemic, more cases were received than were disposed of in the criminal courts, which meant that the number of outstanding cases rose. The Department's analysis of live case numbers at any stage and of the processing times for cases completed in courts in the past six years indicates that the pandemic not only had an impact but continues to have one.”
“I wish that there was a practical alternative to continuing to rely on those provisions as a temporary measure, but there is, in my view, justification in that the legacy of the pandemic continues to have an impact on the justice system. Northern Ireland, like the other jurisdictions in the UK, has suffered a persistent backlog in the criminal courts since the pandemic.”
“I remain keen to have the Justice Bill in place as soon as is reasonably practicable, although the current timescale for enactment of that legislation means that at least one further extension of the provisions in the Coronavirus Act 2020 is likely to be required. In the meantime, the extension will help to maintain the effective operation of the justice system, and it will continue to support broader access to court proceedings where a judge is satisfied that participation by live link is in the interests of justice. <BR /> <BR />I recognise the concerns that Members have expressed previously about continued reliance on legislation that was originally introduced as an emergency measure, and I share those concerns.”
“The extension will allow us to maintain access to a digital tool that has proved to be an essential element of the toolkit for addressing the backlog of cases accrued during and since the pandemic until 24 September 2026. <BR /> <BR />Members will recall from debates on similar motions for approval that we plan to put in place new primary legislation to provide a long-term legislative solution for live links in our courts and tribunals. Executive colleagues and Committee members are aware from debates on past orders of the need for further extensions to assist throughput in the courts while the Justice Bill, which will put live links on a permanent footing, progresses through the Assembly.”
“Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. I am grateful to the Justice Committee and to the Examiner of Statutory Rules for their scrutiny of the order. <BR /> <BR />Article 2 of the order extends the provisions allowing courts and tribunals in Northern Ireland to receive evidence wholly or in part using audio or videoconferencing systems, which are commonly referred to as "live links". Those are primarily video systems that are utilised to facilitate the attendance of persons participating in any court or tribunal hearing remotely. The provisions are in addition to legislation that allows the use of a video link for a specific witness or defendant with all other participants attending in the courtroom.”
“They may think that their partner is hard to live with or difficult to work with but do not realise that they are a victim of serious coercive control, which often spills over into violence only after a persistent length of time. That is one of the reasons that there is a reasonable person test in our legislation on coercive control. If a reasonable person deems the behaviour to be inappropriate and coercive, that is sufficient for further investigation to take place. It is right that that should be so.”
“We therefore need people always to be conscious of coercive control. <BR /> <BR />Raising awareness in the community has already started. We have tried to do that through some of the Department of Justice's advertising campaigns on coercive control. There may be opportunities, depending on finances, for us to rerun some of the campaigns that looked at the different kinds of abuse and control out there. Crucially, we need to do more with first responders, such as those working in our hospitals, in the community and voluntary sector, in GP surgeries and in the PSNI and other justice agencies, to make sure that they recognise what coercive control looks like, because, sadly, many victims do not recognise that they are victims of coercive control, with many living in denial.”
“We will want to address the issue through the ending violence against women and girls programme, in collaboration with the Executive Office, and through the domestic and sexual abuse strategy and action plan, for which Minister Nesbitt and I are jointly responsible in the Department of Health and the Department of Justice respectively. <BR /> <BR />It is important that people understand the complexities of coercive control. I have recently had some positive meetings with people who have flagged an ever-changing landscape when it comes to the lengths to which people will go to abuse a partner, a former partner, a family member, a parent or a child. People have to be constantly on their guard as to what coercive control looks like. In some cases, it may appear obvious. In other cases, however, it is very subtle.”
“I am also reassured because I am sure that Dr Melia would not have agreed to oversee the implementation of the review were she not confident that the people with whom she worked would be serious about implementing it. That does not mean, however, that I will sit back and let this drift. I want to be continually updated on progress and to be assured that real change is being delivered. While some things will have changed between Katie's sad death and now, many have not. I want to be sure that those things that have not yet changed change quickly, so that not just me and the House but the general public, who may call on those services in the future, are reassured.”
“As I said at the outset, the review was not on a statutory footing in the same way that a domestic homicide would be; it was a different kind of review, which I instigated specifically because I believed that the seriousness of the failures were such that we needed a proper, independent investigation of the system. <BR /> <BR />On the question of what confidence I have in people's willingness, the fact, first of all, is that people cooperated openly, transparently and proactively with the investigation and the report. When the Member gets the opportunity to read the report, he will see that they operated transparently. The report is tough reading. People were not hiding their failures: they were open and honest. That is important for change.”
“That investigation may or may not lead to criminal proceedings; it is still to be concluded. There will also be a coroner's inquest. Those may be better forums for looking at what are essentially allegations of malfeasance in public office or perverting the course of justice. Either of those could be looked at by the PSNI or the ombudsman at any time.”
“The purpose of the review was to look at systemic failures in the public protection system — the PSNI and the other statutory and voluntary agencies that were directly involved. I am aware of the allegations, as are most people in the Chamber, but it was not a criminal investigation and, therefore, it would not have looked into the issue of whether there had been any attempt to pervert the course of justice, which is what such a call may have amounted to. It was not a criminal investigation but was about the systems that are in place to protect people. Those who have information about that call — the alleged conversation and interventions — need to provide that directly to either the PSNI or the ombudsman for thorough investigation. The Member will be aware that, as I said at the outset, there is an ongoing ombudsman investigation.”
“What we need are systems that can be set in place whenever those flaws or biases are exposed to prevent further harm being done. That is the purpose of the report. It is important that I say that the PSNI, along with all the other agencies that were asked to cooperate with the investigation, cooperated openly and transparently. That is not just my assessment; it is the assessment of Dr Jan Melia, who is better-placed than anyone else to give that assurance.”
“It would be, frankly, ridiculous of me to stand here and say that I am satisfied with how Katie Simpson's murder was investigated from the outset, when a report that is before me highlights many failings, not just by the PSNI but by health trusts and others that were in direct contact with Katie and with Jonathan Creswell over a significant period. <BR /> <BR />I will not sweep what is in the report under the carpet. Instead, I have asked Dr Melia to take forward the implementation of the report's recommendations, as I said, and I will make sure that what is in the report is learned from and that our systems change and improve. Any system that is made up of human beings will have flaws. That is the reality of the human condition.”
“I have already dealt with the fact that so many people who were being investigated for the mishandling of the case were able to retire, and I have set out the changes that I intend to make to ensure that there can be no repeat of that. In addition to the review report, which clearly identifies the misogyny, confirmation biases and victim-blaming narratives that were accepted, I am aware that a recently published independent review confirmed that there was clear evidence of sexism and misogyny in the PSNI.”
“Just because you are more senior does not mean that you have seen the thing that could be key in an investigation. It is often someone who is more junior and much closer to the issue who might have witnessed, or seen or felt uneasy about, something that really matters. <BR /> <BR />None of us in any walk of life should be so arrogant as to think that we cannot learn from others and should not listen to and take seriously the complaints when they are raised. One of the lessons from what surrounded Katie Simpson's death is about the number of people who had to raise concerns before their voices were heard. Not every victim will have so many people who are so committed to fighting their case, and people's getting justice cannot be reliant on that.”
“First, I thank the Member for being proactively engaged in the matter. The report is there to be read, and there is no suggestion in it that that is a significant concern. However, the Member will be aware that much media attention and much discussion have surrounded the death of Katie Simpson. Many views have been expressed about an unwillingness to confront what was a very serious situation. That is what I was referring to when I spoke about those who seemed unwilling to look. <BR /> <BR />There is a tendency in all of us, when we take a position on something, to not want to go back and rethink that position. It is much easier to hope that someone else has got it wrong than to accept that perhaps we have got it wrong. If that is the prevailing culture in organisations, particularly hierarchical ones, it can be incredibly dangerous.”
“We need to foster better public understanding of abuse and its serious consequences and reach the public where they are, whether that is at home, in work, medical settings or education, to ensure that we recognise that coercive control is a serious issue and does serious harm. It is no less harmful than physical violence; indeed, it has often led to some of the most serious cases of physical violence and homicide that we have seen.”
“The fact that someone has ended the relationship does not necessarily mean that the coercive controlling behaviour has ended, and it is important that people recognise the long tail that that can have on someone's life. <BR /> <BR />Furthermore, and importantly, the review recommends that we have to strengthen and broaden public awareness initiatives across Northern Ireland when it comes to coercive control. Those campaigns should also address and challenge victim-blaming attitudes. Sadly, we have heard some of those victim-blaming attitudes in our media, even over the past weekend.”
“The Domestic Abuse and Civil Proceedings Act (Northern Ireland) 2021 significantly strengthened protections for victims of domestic abuse, particularly when it comes to coercive control. It recognised that serious harm can be caused by not only physical violence but psychological, emotional, coercive and controlling behaviours. Dr Melia has made recommendations for further training for staff to identify indicators of coercive control and respond to them correctly. She calls for that to be embedded in decision-making during investigations, at bail hearings and in risk assessment and management. It also calls on multi-agency management of offenders under PPANI to ensure that coercive control is recognised as a continuing risk, even in the absence of a current relationship.”