Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland (CJINI) recommended in June 2019 that the Department of Justice should review how potential inadequacies in current legislation regarding the act of choking or strangulation by defendants could be addressed.

Justice Minister Naomi Long ordered a review last summer, which was widened to include consideration of the so-called “rough sex” defence, which was the subject of a separate consultation late last year.

Mrs Long told MLAs yesterday that the review team is now “finalising a report for public consultation on non-fatal strangulation offences”.

She added: “The consultation will set out relevant background information and research and seek public and relevant stakeholders’ views on the most appropriate way forward for the criminal justice system to respond to cases of non-fatal strangulation. The consultation will be launched in the coming weeks.”

The minister said she would not reach a “final conclusion” on how to take forward necessary legislative changes until the consultation had completed.

She added: “I know that at least one member of the judiciary, District Judge McElholm, has raised concerns about the issue of judicial training and the level of the offence and penalty for non-fatal strangulation, all of which we want to consider as part of the review.”