Serious Organised Crime and Police Act (Designated Area) Order 2005 

I hesitate to interrupt at this stage of the proceedings and I am grateful to the Minister for allowing me to do so. I am worried about these high maximum sentences. At the site of a demonstration a senior police officer—who, as the Bill makes clear, may be the most senior person on the spot at the time—is able to alter or indeed add to the conditions laid down by the commissioner without due time to think and weigh in mind every consideration that undoubtedly the commissioner would bring to bear. The Minister should say something about the limitations on how far those additional or supplementary conditions can go. She will appreciate that in the middle of a demonstration that senior police officer could suddenly say that it should be changed in terms of place, time or numbers in a way that would make it extremely difficult even for a person of good will to comply. My noble friend and I are deeply troubled about that.