Serious Crime Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 48: 48: Schedule 1 , page 46, line 25, at end insert— ““Armed robbery An offence under section 8(1) of the Theft Act 1968 (c. 60) where it is alleged that, at some time during the commission of the offence, the defendant had in his possession a firearm or imitation firearm (as defined by section 57 of the Firearms Act 1968 (c. 27)).”” The noble Baroness said: I also speak to Amendments Nos. 49 and 51. The amendments do what my noble and learned friend Lord Mayhew wanted to do: ask the Government to justify the crimes listed in Schedule 1. I would like to know the reasoning behind the drafting of the schedule and what the Government considered should or should not be in. Were other offences originally thought of as forming part of it and then rejected? How did it end up being, in a sense, a beauty parade? There must be an explanation of why some offences that one would normally consider serious are omitted from the list. On the previous group of amendments, the noble Lord, Lord Bassam, said that things might become offences because of a change in behaviour; information technology has given us the prime examples of that. The noble Baroness, Lady Scotland, has referred to the use of pornography over the internet, and we must change our criminal law to address that. I can also understand that those involved in serious crime may find one avenue closed off and turn to another. That is a future which requires flexibility. We need to know why it is this particular list, and why now. What evidence do the Government have that something as serious as a serious crime prevention order, with all that it entails, is the only way of dealing with serious criminals involved in these offences? For example, I have excluded the fishing provision—