Police and Justice Bill

My Lords, I beg to move that the House do not insist on its Amendments Nos. 36 and 85 to which the Commons have disagreed. Your Lordships will remember that, when we last debated this issue in Committee, several noble Lords argued that these amendments were all about the failure of the United States to ratify the treaty. It may assist the House if I remind noble Lords what was said then. The noble Lord, Lord Kingsland, said: "““The treaty is what today's debate is fundamentally about. The treaty needs to be ratified by both parties to give it binding effect in international law … The United States has done nothing about ratification, in breach of the rules of international comity … We believe the time has come for your Lordships’ House to act. The United States Senate is, after all another upper House in an English speaking world; and we hope that a firm signal from your Lordships’ House would be taken seriously by the United States Senate””.—[Official Report, 11/7/06; cols. 626-27.]" Then the noble Lord, Lord Goodhart, said: "““I have no expectation that the Senate will approve this treaty in the remotely near future””.—[Official Report, 11/7/06; col. 632.]" The noble and learned Lord, Lord Mayhew, who was in his place just a moment ago, was very kind. He said: "““We wish her luck … She will be strengthened and not weakened if this House has shown, at last, that the Brits are not patsies; that they have been taken for a long enough ride … Let it therefore arm her for the fight””.—[Official Report, 11/7/06; col. 635.]" The noble Lord, Lord Hodgson, said: "““It will also perhaps provide some backbone to the Government’s negotiations with the US, which now appears to be conspicuous by its absence””.—[Official Report, 11/7/06; col. 639.]" It was the House’s intent at that time to arm me for the fight that it wished me to engage in, on behalf of Her Majesty’s Government, with the United States—the Senate in particular—in the hope that it would better understand the disquiet that had been caused by its failure to ratify that treaty.