Serious Crime Bill [HL]

My Lords, I beg to move that the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 1. As noble Lords will know, this will be the first time that I stand before the House to discuss this Bill. I understand from the Attorney-General, my noble and learned friend Lady Scotland, and colleagues in the other place that the Bill has undergone very careful consideration throughout its passage. I thank all of your Lordships for your time, attention and close scrutiny to date and I look forward to our consideration this afternoon. The Bill was introduced into this House in January and has been the subject of interesting discussion and debate between your Lordships during the following months. The Bill then passed to the other place in May and was considered by a Public Bill Committee before the Summer Recess. The Third Reading took place in the other place on Monday of this week and I am grateful to noble Lords for attending this afternoon to consider the amendments made since the Bill left this House. On Amendment No. 1, the Government’s position has consistently been that we would change the law to permit intercept evidence only if the necessary safeguards could be put in place to protect sensitive techniques and capabilities, and the potential benefits outweighed the risks. Whether or not one supports a change in law to permit intercept evidence, the amendment of the noble and learned Lord, Lord Lloyd, was not the right way to take this forward for the reasons previously articulated. That is why it was removed during Committee stage in the other place. It is not my purpose here to go over well trodden ground on the debates on the Lords amendment. The fact is we recognise the strength of views on this issue and that it is time to bring the debate to a conclusion. That is why we established a cross-party independent review on privy counsellor terms, to report its findings by the start of the parliamentary Session in November. The privy counsellors conducting the review are: the noble and learned Lord, Lord Archer of Sandwell, the noble Lord, Lord Hurd of Westwell, the right honourable Alan Beith MP and the right honourable Sir John Chilcot, who is the chair. It would be more appropriate to return to this debate once the privy counsellors have completed their review and the House can benefit from their detailed considerations. Until then, it would be unhelpful and inappropriate to enter into further debate. Moved, That the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 1.—(Lord West of Spithead.)