National Security Bill (Third sitting) Debate

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Department: Home Office
Stephen McPartland Portrait Stephen McPartland
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Both the right hon. Member for North Durham and the hon. Member for Halifax made a very good point. We will take that away and look at it. If they want to strengthen the Bill, we are happy to work with them to do that.

Antony Higginbotham Portrait Antony Higginbotham (Burnley) (Con)
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Would my hon. Friend agree that there is a difference between providing force protection for a site and providing constabulary and law enforcement duties?

Stephen McPartland Portrait Stephen McPartland
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My hon. Friend makes a good point. We must also bear in mind that it is not our intention to introduce search-and-seize powers under these police powers. This is part of the tiered approach we referred to earlier, with the police being able to warn people to go away before they fall foul of the law. There is the opportunity to give them that warning before any arrest.