Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) Order 2007

rose to move, That the draft order laid before the House on 2 July be approved. The noble Lord said: My Lords, proscription of terrorist organisations is an important part of the Government’s strategy to tackle terrorist activities. We would therefore like to add a further two organisations to the 44 international terrorist organisations already proscribed. This is the fifth proscription order under the Terrorism Act 2000. Section 3 of the Terrorism Act 2000 provides a power for the Home Secretary to proscribe an organisation which she believes is concerned in terrorism. That is achieved by adding the organisation to the list of proscribed organisations in Schedule 2 to the Act. An organisation is concerned for these purposes if it commits or participates in acts of terrorism, prepares for terrorism, promotes or encourages terrorism, or is otherwise concerned in terrorism. An organisation must meet the statutory test before it can be considered for proscription. When deciding whether to make an order proscribing a group, a number of additional factors are taken into account; those were announced to Parliament in 2001. They are the nature and scale of an organisation’s activities, the specific threat that it poses to the United Kingdom, the specific threat that it poses to British nationals overseas, the organisation’s presence in the United Kingdom, and the need to support other members of the international community in tackling terrorism. Proscription is a tough power. It means that the organisation is outlawed in the UK and cannot operate here. Membership of the organisation is an offence, as is inviting support for it. Proscription also makes it unlawful to raise funds on behalf of the organisation. Given the wide-ranging impact of proscription, the Home Secretary makes the decision to put forward a group for proscription only after thoroughly reviewing all the relevant information available on an organisation. That includes open-source material, as well as intelligence material and advice that reflects consultations across government and with the law enforcement agencies. The two organisations listed in the order are directly concerned in terrorism. They are Jammat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh and Tehrik Nefaz-e Shari’at Muhammadi. The TNSM’s objective is the militant enforcement of Sharia law in Pakistan. It regularly attacks coalition soldiers and Afghan government forces in Afghanistan. It provides direct support to al-Qaeda and the Taliban. It is believed to have been behind an attack on a Pakistani military base in November 2006 which killed 42 personnel. The JMB has claimed responsibility for numerous fatal bomb attacks in Bangladesh since first coming to prominence in 2002. In August 2005, it set off some 500 bombs in all but one of Bangladesh's 64 districts in the space of an hour. The Bangladeshi Government recently announced the execution of six leaders of the JMB, including its chief. However, some sources indicate that the organisation has a significant number of full-time members. There are indications that it is making efforts to regroup to continue its campaign of terror. The proscription of the two groups will support our international partners in disrupting terrorist activity by making the United Kingdom a hostile environment for terrorists and their supporters. It will also send the strong message to the terrorists that the United Kingdom is not willing to tolerate terrorism either here or anywhere else in the world. It is important to note that any organisation that is proscribed, or anyone affected by a proscription of that organisation, can apply to the Home Secretary for the organisation to be deproscribed. If that is refused, the applicant can appeal to the Proscribed Organisations Appeal Commission. The POAC is a special tribunal of three members, including a senior member of the judiciary, which determines whether the decision of the Secretary of State to refuse to deproscribe was flawed when considered in light of the principles applicable on a judicial review application. The members of the commission are all qualified to see sensitive material, and a special advocate can be appointed for POAC appellants to argue on their behalf in closed session. There is ample evidence to suggest that the two organisations are concerned in terrorism, and I believe that we should proscribe them. I commend the order to the House. I beg to move. Moved, That the draft order laid before the House on 2 July be approved. 22nd Report from the Statutory Instruments Committee.—(Lord West of Spithead.)