5.—(1) Amend Article 63 (prohibition of possession etc. of firearm by certain persons) as follows.
(2) In paragraph (4) for “Secretary of State” substitute “Minister of Justice”.
(3) In paragraph (7) omit the words after “remove the prohibition”.
(4) After paragraph (7) insert—
“(7A) Where an application is made to the Secretary of State under paragraph (7) for the removal of a prohibition, the Secretary of State must—
(a)remove the prohibition,
(b)refuse the application, or
(c)refer the application to the Minister of Justice.
(7B) But the Secretary of State may act under paragraph (7A)(a) or (b) only if the Secretary of State’s view that the prohibition should be removed or the application should be refused is arrived at (wholly or partly) on the basis of information the disclosure of which may, in the view of the Secretary of State, be against the interests of national security.
(7C) Where an application is referred to the Minister of Justice under paragraph (7A)(c), the Minister may remove the prohibition or refuse the application.”