Justice and Security Bill [Lords]
Debate between Julian Lewis and Nigel Evans(11 years, 8 months ago)
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Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)
Order. There are four Members trying to catch my eye on this set of amendments and the knife falls at 4 o’clock, so I ask Members to be conscious of the time that they take to make their case in order to allow the Minister to respond.
Dr Julian Lewis
I shall be brief. On amendment 73, in the light of the undertaking given by the Minister to my hon. Friend the Member for Cities of London and Westminster (Mark Field) that the publication issues will be addressed in the memorandum of understanding, I am say on behalf of colleagues that we do not propose to press that amendment.
On the question of taking evidence on oath, I think I speak for colleagues on the Committee in saying that we are entirely happy with what the Government propose. On the use of the word “voluntary”, I can only re-emphasise what has been said by many other colleagues. The Minister endeavoured to explain to the House why this applies only to that part of our duties that relate to operational matters. All I can say to him and to the Government is that we will be spending an awful lot of our time trying to fend off critics who, wilfully or otherwise, choose to interpret the presence of the word “voluntarily” on the face of the Bill as implying that we do not have the ability to force the agencies to comply with our requests, when in most cases we do. There must be a simpler and less emotive term that can be used to express the same purpose, without leaving us open to such unjustified criticism.
On the question of privilege, I am still concerned, as are the Opposition, that sufficient measures have not been taken to empower the Committee and protect the Committee to anything like the same extent. For example, when the Committee discusses people’s possible involvement in serious criminal activity, could we end up in a situation in which some of our proceedings that involve statements —not from witnesses, but from Committee members—that in the ordinary course of events might be regarded as defamatory may result in court proceedings being taken against members in a way that would not be possible with members of a Select Committee in analogous circumstances? If we could end up in such a situation, the Government need to consider that problem very seriously indeed and do something about it at a later stage. I hope that the Minister will refer to that in his closing remarks.
On the question of pre-appointment hearings, I do not believe that the Committee has taken a corporate view as such, but one point must be made, and made strongly: this would add to the work load of the Committee’s staff. The Committee, as has been made crystal clear today, is already grotesquely understaffed by comparison with comparable committees and organisations in this country and in Europe. Therefore, were we to take on that further burden, we would definitely need better proposals for resourcing it than those that are currently ready.
The Opposition are quite right to resist amendment 71, because individual complaints against the agencies, such as that involving Binyam Mohamed, are not the responsibility of the ISC; they fall within the statutory remit of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal. That is the correct body to deal with such matters.
Finally, on the question of the Osmotherly rules, I am glad that the matter will be dealt with one way or another. We would prefer it to be set out in the Bill, but otherwise in the memorandum of understanding, because the ISC frequently needs access to the papers of a previous Administration, for example, or has to deal with matters that are sub judice, and we cannot row backwards from that situation. Subject to those comments, we are very pleased with the progress the Bill has made thus far.
Point of Order
Debate between Julian Lewis and Nigel Evans
Dr Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)
On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. I am sure that anyone who cares about the welfare of members of the armed forces will have been shocked by the Armistice day story in yesterday’s The Sunday Telegraph about a special forces sergeant who has been sentenced to a year and a half in prison for having kept a presentation weapon given to him by the Iraqi special forces five years ago. Has there been any indication from a Defence Minister that a Defence Minister will come to this House to make a statement soon on the outrageously disproportionate and unjust nature of the sentence that has been passed on this gentleman, who has spent his life fighting people from al-Qaeda, not proselytising for them?
Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)
Thank you for that point of order, Dr Lewis. I have not been notified that a Defence Minister, or indeed any other Minister, wishes to make a statement today on this matter or on any other. But should that change, the House will be informed in the usual way.
European Union (Approval of Treaty Amendment Decision) Bill [Lords]
Debate between Julian Lewis and Nigel Evans(12 years, 2 months ago)
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Dr Julian Lewis
Is not the real choice that is going to have to be faced that the euro will be dismantled in an orderly way, or will collapse in a disorderly way? Is not the danger that we feel that we cannot be seen to be sabotaging this project, in which so many of our colleagues in the European Union have invested so much energy and treasure, and yet, by not speaking the truth about the matter, we are making more likely a disorderly collapse, rather than orderly dismantling?
The First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means (Mr Nigel Evans)
The hon. Gentleman will answer that intervention through the prism of amendment 1, please.
Point of Order
Debate between Julian Lewis and Nigel Evans(12 years, 2 months ago)
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Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)
I can confirm that it is a courtesy for a relevant Minister to be present during a ten-minute rule Bill. However, I am sure that the House will want to be a little generous about what was going on yesterday, as there may have been some confusion as to who was doing what in Government Departments. In fact, I think I was the only person not waiting by my telephone yesterday.
Mr Deputy Speaker
I see there were a few others. I am sure that normal service will now be resumed.
Bill Presented
Infrastructure (Financial Assistance) Bill
Presentation and First Reading (Standing Order No. 50)
Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, supported by the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, Secretary Vince Cable, Mr Secretary McLoughlin, Danny Alexander, Greg Clark, Mr David Gauke and Sajid Javid, presented a Bill to make provision in connection with the giving of financial assistance in respect of the provision of infrastructure.
Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time tomorrow, and to be printed (Bill 66) with explanatory notes (Bill 66-EN).