Counter-Terrorism Bill

My Lords, as the noble and learned Lord, Lord Lloyd of Berwick, said, there was a lot of dissatisfaction in Committee about the structure of the Bill at that stage with regard to post-charge questioning. It is necessary to acknowledge the steps that the Government have taken to address those criticisms. Although in the Bill as it stood, in Scotland it would be a sheriff from whom authorisation was sought, there was concern that in England and Northern Ireland it would be lay justices. The fact that they will now be professional justices, judges, is very welcome. There was also concern that, for the initial 24-hour period, questioning could be done at the behest of any senior police officer. There was criticism of that from all sides, and I very much welcome the fact that the Government have thought better of that and that, from the outset, there will be judicial authorisation. The amendments I have tabled in this group are superseded by the comprehensive amendments that the Government have tabled. It is also fair to recognise that one of the amendments that I proposed in Committee was to limit the period for questioning to 72 hours, as opposed to five days. I welcome the fact that the Government have come back to be even more restrictive on the length of questioning. I listened carefully to what the noble and learned Lord, Lord Lloyd of Berwick, said about his amendment to the amendment. I have cited before in the context of post-charge questioning the principle of Scots law as enunciated by the then Lord Justice-General Normand in 1938: "““When an accused person has been committed, he comes under the protection of the court and it is the court’s duty to see that nothing is done by the police that will prejudice his trial””." That principle is consistent with the amendment moved by the noble and learned Lord, Lord Lloyd. I listened carefully to the Minister's answers. Simply to assert that the police, the CPS, the procurator fiscal and the Lord Advocate do not like it is not answer enough. We want to know why they do not like it. The amendment is limited, in that the judiciary is not determining which questions will be asked but rather the scope or subject matter of the questions. That is an important distinction. I therefore want to learn from the Minister why the amendment is being resisted.