Serious Crime Bill [Lords]

I do not accept that, for the reasons that the hon. Gentleman knows. We have already debated that matter long and hard. As I have said, the intent behind the amendments seems to be to force the applicant authority to show that the actions were unreasonable. Whether that is correct depends on one question: who is best placed to know the circumstances surrounding those actions and whether they are reasonable? The answer must surely be the subject. It is important to remember, though, that for this even to be an issue, the applicant authority will already have had to adduce evidence to show that the actions of the proposed subject facilitated, or were likely to facilitate, serious crime. Without having proved the existence of the element of facilitation, the question of whether the actions were reasonable would not arise. So, the proposed subject will not be asked to prove reasonableness in a vacuum; rather, they will need to show that the actions that facilitated the serious crime were reasonable. If I asked my constituents whether it was acceptable to ask someone who has been proven to have facilitated crimes such as drug trafficking or people smuggling to show that their actions were reasonable, I am confident that their answer would be the same as mine. I continue to resist the amendments for those reasons and hope that they will be not be pressed. We have already discussed at some length the civil nature of the orders and I do not propose to go into any further detail now. Finally, on the amendments not tabled by the Government, I would like to mention amendments Nos. 81 and 82. They would add the offences contained in sections 1 to 3 of the Computer Misuse Act 1990 to the list of offences contained in schedule 1. I would like to thank hon. Gentlemen for tabling those amendments, but in consultation with law enforcement agencies and others throughout the development and passage of the Bill, no one has suggested that those offences should be included. However, the Government are firmly committed to tackling computer crime and I can see that there may be merit in including those types of offence in the schedule. I cannot accept the amendments at this time, because I would not wish to do so without consulting the computer industry and other stakeholders. However, that was precisely the reason why we included the order-making power to add to the schedule at a later date. That aspect has been opposed, but it might be helpful in those circumstances. If I make a commitment now to consult fully on the amendments and, subject to the results of that consultation, to seek to amend the schedule by order if it proves to be appropriate, I hope that the amendments will not be pressed. There are a number of other Government amendments, which are relatively minor and technical, and I intend to move them formally later. I invite the House to resist amendment No. 63.