European Union (Future Relationship) Bill

Lord Davies of Gower Excerpts

3rd reading & 2nd reading & Committee negatived & 2nd reading (Hansard) & 2nd reading (Hansard): House of Lords & 3rd reading (Hansard) & 3rd reading (Hansard): House of Lords & Committee negatived (Hansard) & Committee negatived (Hansard): House of Lords
Wednesday 30th December 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Davies of Gower (Con) [V]]

My Lords, I add my congratulations to the Government and their negotiating team under the leadership of my noble friend Lord Frost. I cannot begin to imagine how difficult this must have been for the negotiators, but the stresses and strains over the weeks towards the end were indeed palpable to those of us who observed the negotiations closely. While the whole Brexit issue may have caused division within the ranks of politicians, and indeed the public at large, whichever side you were on, we can now all hopefully come together in the knowledge that we have a deal which, all being well, will bind us together for a prosperous future with our new trading arrangements.

In the limited time allocated, I should like to touch from a practical perspective on two areas that I have a particular interest in. To some extent I am pleased to see the agreement struck in relation to aviation, particularly with co-operation on aviation safety, security and air traffic management. It will, however, impose a restriction on UK airlines as they will no longer be considered EU carriers and will lose existing traffic rights in the EU. The practical effects of that are yet to be seen and experienced.

It also has consequences for general aviation. A simple example of this is the light aircraft pilot’s licence, which was originally and rather ironically conceived by EASA as a simpler and easier way to obtain a licence. However, from 1 January 2021, British pilots who hold such a licence cannot fly into Europe as a pilot in charge of an aircraft, as it will become a national licence with UK-only privileges. This is very regrettable.

I am, however, a little more sceptical in respect of security and policing. I voted remain on the basis of my experience of working as a police officer in eastern Europe and my belief that the UK’s best interests would be served by maintaining our close working relationships, both formally and informally, with our European security and policing cousins. I am still of that opinion. Key tools such as the Schengen Information System SIS II, and membership of Europol and Eurojust, enabled us to work closely with our European partners, but membership will now be lost.

The noble Lords, Lord Pannick and Lord Ricketts, and my noble friend Lord Lancaster, have already referred to the effects of the loss of SIS II. I agree that it will deny the operational officer on the street key real-time information with regards to foreign nationals engaged in criminality or who may be wanted for serious crimes. I do not therefore fully share the enthusiasm of the Home Secretary, who has

“hailed the UK’s new comprehensive security agreement with the EU.”

Yes, we have arrangements for the sharing of information on air passenger travel, vehicle registration, DNA and fingerprints, but I fear that these amount to only the basic essentials. It is real-time database access that is vital and is lacking in this agreement and, as a consequence, in the police toolbox.

All of that said, this Bill was brought about as a result of a democratic vote by the people of the United Kingdom. I respect that, as I believe others should. While I have reservations on some areas of the deal, there are many aspects of the deal that I applaud. Above all, it is the will of the people. It is fair to say that the EU has certainly developed into something far greater than that that which was voted on way back in the 1970s. I feel sure that many of the issues raised by your Lordships this evening, including those raised by myself, can be addressed in due course. Therefore, I have no hesitation in supporting the Bill this evening.