Merchant Shipping (Homosexual Conduct) Bill

Lord Rosser Excerpts

2nd reading (Hansard): House of Lords
Thursday 6th April 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Rosser (Lab)]

My Lords, this Bill has a certain Wiltshire flavour, since it was taken through the Commons by the Member of Parliament for Salisbury and is being taken through this House by the noble Baroness, Lady Scott of Bybrook, whom I congratulate on doing so. My connections with Wiltshire are not exactly remote either.

The Bill is brief and to the point. Indeed, it is one of those Bills where the Explanatory Notes contain significantly more words than the Bill, but in this case it is not because the way that the Bill is worded makes it difficult to follow or understand. The Bill repeals Sections 146(4) and 147(3) of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, which states that, while not a criminal offence, homosexual acts would be sufficient grounds for dismissal in the Merchant Navy.

The references in the 1994 Act to homosexual acts in the Armed Forces were removed under the Armed Forces Act 2016, but as that Act relates to the Armed Forces it could not also be used as a vehicle for repealing the references in the 1994 Act to the Merchant Navy. Consequently, the provisions in the 1994 Act in relation to the Merchant Navy remain on the statute book and still need to be repealed despite no longer having legal effect, hence this Bill. The provisions in the 1994 Act no longer have legal effect, because while the sections concerned allow for the dismissal of a member of the crew of a merchant ship on the grounds of homosexual acts, more recent legislation, including the Equality Act 2010, means that such a dismissal would now be illegal.

The two sections of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 which this Bill repeals are the last such provisions penalising homosexual activity to be found on our statute book. I understand, as I think has been confirmed already today, that they were added to the 1994 Act, initially against the wishes of the then Government, following a Division during the Committee stage in this House.

The noble Baroness, Lady Scott of Bybrook, has set out the reasons why the provisions in the 1994 Act should be repealed even though they no longer have legal effect. I do not intend to repeat the reasons, but I agree with them.

As has been said, the Bill could be regarded as symbolic because the provisions it repeals have no legal effect. It is much more than that, though. We simply should not retain on the statute book provisions that are the exact opposite of the values, standards and priorities of our society today; and in this specific instance, it is that there can be no place for discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. I do not intend to detain the House any longer. This House played a big part in putting these provisions into the 1994 Act. Let us get on with taking the right and just action now by repealing them through giving our wholehearted support to this Bill.