Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill

Lord Berkeley Excerpts

Lords Hansard - part two & Committee stage
Wednesday 3rd November 2021 Lords Chamber

One day, the Committee will consider my Amendment 241, which proposes drastic reform in respect of prolific minor offenders. It is targeted particularly at offenders who are illiterate, innumerate and whose personal conduct falls far below the standard required. However, it is not the whole solution for Travellers. There are some very complex social problems to be solved. Sadly, the Bill’s simplistic provisions do no such thing as they address the symptoms and not the underlying causes.

[Lord Berkeley (Lab)]

Can I ask the noble Earl a question? It seems, from listening to his speech, he is saying that all Travellers are criminals. He did not quite say that all criminals are Travellers, but he got some way towards it. What is his solution? Is it to deport them to some offshore island, so they do not affect our way of life?

[Earl Attlee (Con)]

When the noble Lord looks at my speech carefully, he will see I said there is legitimate economic activity for Travellers. I accept that plenty of Travellers engage exclusively in legitimate economic activity. I decided not to tease the noble Lord and ask him who he thought was stealing all the electrical cables from the railway system.