Crime and Courts Bill [HL]

Lord Carswell Excerpts

Tuesday 4th December 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Goldsmith]

My Lords, I support this amendment. I understand that the Government may be in a position to say something favourable about it, so there is no need to say anything further, other than that the amendment may anticipate a little bit the debate that may take place on the next amendment about the importance of recognising the Supreme Court as an independent court no longer dependent on the Lord Chancellor.

[Lord Carswell]

My Lords, I support this amendment. For most of my 50 years in courts, this function was carried out by police officers who had the authority and the presence to be able to keep order. At times in my rather coloured career, that was necessary. At one time, we received intelligence that a gun was being smuggled into court to shoot either a witness or me or both of us. Happily, it did not arrive. The police presence was phased out, as it has been in other parts of the United Kingdom, and it has been necessary to appoint security officers. In my experience, they have never had to use these powers. They are needed because a lot more people attend the Supreme Court than used to attend the Appellate Committee upstairs or the Privy Council hearings. I support the amendment as one that it would be wise to have.

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

My Lords, this amendment concerns the security arrangements for the UK Supreme Court. As the noble Lord, Lord Pannick, has so elegantly explained, Amendment 112 would provide UK Supreme Court security officers with powers similar to those of court security officers appointed by the Lord Chancellor in accordance with the Courts Act 2003 in England and Wales and would address that gap.

The Government accept that UK Supreme Court security officers should have the same broad powers as court security officers in England and Wales, subject to appropriate safeguards, including in respect to training and security clearance. Having looked at the amendment, the Government are happy to commend it to the House.