Serious Crime Bill [HL]

As I have said on a couple of occasions, I understand the noble Lord’s anxiety. I should declare an interest, as one of Her Majesty’s deputy High Court judges. I exclude myself from any of the comments I make in relation to those judges who have the privilege of sitting. I am grateful to the noble Baroness for reminding me of the declaration, by virtue of her example. It is important to remember the context when looking at the amendments. Those who commit serious crime are innovative and enormous adaptable. They do not commit crime for crime’s sake; they do so to fund luxurious lifestyles, taking advantage of those more vulnerable than themselves wherever they find them. They are extraordinarily innovative. From his wealth of experience, the noble Lord, Lord Dear, explained this to us very eloquently during our Second Reading debate. It is therefore incredibly difficult to provide an exhaustive list of the types of criminal activity in which such people will engage, both now and in the future. If one looks at the way in which criminal activity has developed over the past few years because of the opportunities that technology has provided, it becomes clear why that is so. This type of criminal continually seeks to find new opportunities to exploit the way in which law-abiding people live their lives together. Our society never stands still; it is always evolving and changing, so the protection which exists at present has its weak points, which are usually preyed upon. The development of internet fraud and of pornographic and paedophiliac activity on the internet was unknown a few years ago, yet it has been developed with great facility by those who want to promulgate these pernicious activities. It is important that we do not fetter the discretion of the courts and their ability to adapt to the constant changes around us by looking too narrowly at these issues. We have to put them in the context of the position in which we find ourselves. The court will be able to make a fully informed and reasoned decision as to whether it will be appropriate for an offence to attract an order. ““Seriousness”” is not a new concept, as I indicated at the start of our first debate. The term is well understood and there is a great deal of jurisprudence in relation to it. Further, an offence will not always be appropriate for attracting an order in all circumstances. Sometimes the context and nature of the activity and the way it will be used will make it particularly serious, and the court will need to balance when that occurs. The orders should not be used against someone whose crime is to get involved in a fight in a pub, for instance. However, someone who has routinely used violence in the past to intimidate and maintain a reign of terror in an area might be an appropriate candidate for an order after serving his sentence if there is evidence that an order would prevent such crimes taking place again. There are many historical figures that one could cite; the Kray brothers, for example, used violence and intimidation as an integral part of their criminal activities. Finally, I hear what the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay, says about the need for certainty. I believe that the position provides just that while maintaining the flexibility which, as I have explained, we believe to be essential. The list in Schedule 1 to the Bill provides significant guidance for the courts about the types of offence that these orders are designed to be used against. I have every confidence that with this guidance the courts will be able to develop a consistent approach that strengthens the certainty of the Bill even further. Although I understand the noble Baroness's concern, we believe that the way in which the Bill is structured and the tests that have to be applied are sufficiently rigorous to make us confident that these provisions can be used with a degree of certainty in law that would make them fit to be used to address this most dreadful and pernicious form of criminal activity.