Serious Crime Bill [HL]

““Ah””, says the Minister. I know from my noble friend Lady Carnegy of Lour that fishing illegally is a very vexed and serious crime. Since it is a serious crime, why is it incapable of being dealt with by way of a criminal prosecution? That is why I tabled the amendment to exclude fishing. I would like to know why it has proved impossible—if it has proved impossible—to bring those culpable of that offence to book by way of a criminal prosecution. Amendments Nos. 48 and 50 look at another offence that I would have thought might have been on the list, which is armed robbery. Why has it been omitted? I am grateful to Mr John Letizia of the British Bankers’ Association for his briefing on this matter and for his welcome for my amendments. He points out that last year, British Bankers’ Association members suffered 118 armed robberies, incurring significant losses and resulting in injuries to staff and customers. He also asked that I consider widening, perhaps on Report, the definition of armed robbery to include a wider range of weapons and firearms. He helpfully provided me with a table giving details of the number of armed robberies suffered by banks, building societies, post offices and cash security firms in 2006. It is alarming to see the dangers faced by staff, and sometimes by customers, in those businesses. The table shows that while the use of imitation firearms accounts for a significant proportion of robberies, criminals also regularly use knives, machetes and other implements when committing a robbery. The choice of weapon may vary between criminals, but the threat and use of violence is a constant and increasing reality. The industry has invested heavily in trying to make the banking environment safer, but there is still a serious threat to it. I shall be grateful if the Minister will address why armed robbery is not in the Bill iffishing is. I remain concerned about what my noble friends described in the earlier amendment as a rather eclectic mix of crimes that appear to have wandered into Schedule 1. What consultation was carried out by the Government, with whom and when, on which crimes should be listed in Schedule 1? I note that the Government’s consultation paper New Powers Against Organised and Financial Crime did not give information about the list of crimes that the Government intended to put in Schedule 1. The questions that were listed for respondents to consider did not ask them to say which crimes should come within the remit of an organised crime prevention order, as it was called in the consultation paper. Respondents were not given any clear indication of which crimes the Government would ultimately put in Schedule 1. The case studies on pages 36 and 37 refer to drug trafficking, money-laundering and vehicle ringing, but there is nothing about fishing for salmon. Why have we got the list in Schedule 1, where does it come from and what is the rationale? I beg to move.