Prevention and Suppression of Terrorism

Mark Field Excerpts

Tuesday 10th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mark Field (Cities of London and Westminster) (Con)]

I rise briefly to support the Government motion.

I take on board the comments that have been made by the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North (Diana Johnson). It is right that we proscribe an organisation only after a great deal of thought and when there is a lot of evidence.

As a central London MP, I want to say how lucky we are that the relations between different cultures and races in this country are so good. We too often take that for granted, particularly given the situation in many other western countries, including in the United States and other European countries. The melting pot in my constituency and throughout London operates very well. There is very little evidence of home-grown terrorism, although we rightly clamp down on it where possible.

In such debates, it is right to consider with the utmost seriousness the suppression of such groups, but we must also recognise that community relations in this country are incredibly good. That is a credit to this Government, but also to the last Labour Government. The Prevent strategy has made a real difference to communities at large and within our campuses. It is in that context that I support what the Minister is doing.