Investigation launched into technical glitches during NI vote, but result still stands

THE Speaker of the House of Commons has instigated an urgent investigation into the vote held in parliament on Northern Ireland’s abortion and same-sex marriage rights.

John Bercow said there had been a “large number of errors”, but confirmed that the result still stood.

Speaking to MPs yesterday morning, Mr Bercow said that there had been a mistake in the way Members’ votes were recorded on Wednesday night.

He told the Commons that he wished to make a “short statement regarding the recording of names in the division list” on the same-sex marriage and abortion amendment to Secretary of State Karen Bradley’s new Northern Ireland Bill.

The Bill passed with an amendment from Labour MP Stella Creasy requiring the Secretary of State to provide guidance on the human rights compatibility of Northern Ireland’s laws on abortion and ban on same-sex marriage.

MPs voted 207 to 117 to accept the changes, despite arguments against it from the DUP, whose

John Bercow and Labour MP Stella Creasy nine voting MPs opposed the amended Bill.

“I’m sorry to report that there are a large number of errors in this list. These appear to have been caused by a technological failure,” Mr Bercow told MPs.

“The numbers recorded as voting on either side of the division are recorded by the tellers, these numbers are correct, moreover the names recorded on the Commons voting app are also correct.

“Urgent steps are now being taken to correct the record and the clerk assistant is investigating exactly what went wrong with a view to take necessary corrective action.” It has been announced that there were technical difficulties after the vote and a delay in the publication of the divisions.

The result still stands but the way some MPs voted may have been incorrectly recorded in the Hansard report of parliamentary proceedings.

A revised corrected list of the voting will be published.

The Northern Ireland (Executive Formation and Exercise of Functions) Bill aims to give more power to Stormont civil servants to make decisions in the absence of a functioning Assembly.

Comments: Gregory Campbell