UK Borders Bill

At present, there is no specific offence of assaulting an immigration officer. Assaults on immigration officers from members of the public are charged under the offences applicable to a physical attack, and the power of arrest would lie with a police constable in the usual way. This is in contrast to the other public servants who exercise similar—and, one must recognise, coercive—powers, such as officers from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and the police. The key motivation for taking this power is to provide immigration officers with the tools necessary to enable them to take the initiative and to deal with incidents of assault as they arise. This is wholly consistent with our commitment to enhancing the powers of our border services to strengthen inter-agency working. The Government believe that it is important to give appropriate protection to agents of the state who exercise coercive powers in their front-line role to protect the public. The exercise of powers of arrest and the use of force mark out immigration, Revenue and Customs, and police officers from other government employees. A key aim of the border management programme is to enhance joint working between the border agencies to create the more effective, efficient and flexible border staff that the public expect. In this, it is important that we mirror for immigration officers the protection already afforded to the officers of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and police colleagues. As with other offences in immigration legislation where a power of arrest is appropriate, we intend that a suitably trained immigration officer may exercise a power of arrest in respect of this offence. Clause 22 creates this power of arrest. This power should exist for the same reasons why we already provide immigration officers with powers of arrest in other areas. To rely on a police officer in such circumstances undermines the benefits of ensuring that each agency can prioritise resources that will otherwise be delivered by introducing the primary intervention capability. Moreover, enabling immigration officers to arrest individuals who commit or attempt to commit an offence of assault against a colleague will ensure that we have the means to deal immediately with those who threaten the safety of front-line immigration officers. This is a sensible power and provision, and I do not quite understand the problem that the noble Lord, Lord Avebury, has with it. Thankfully, there are not too many assaults on our immigration staff. However, those who assault them should be treated appropriately, and giving immigration staff these powers will enable them to deal with assaults much more easily. This is a sensible measure, as I said, and I hope that the noble Lord will feel able to withdraw his objection to the clause.