Counter-Terrorism Bill

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Miller, for dealing with this matter in Committee and again today so very effectively. I have added my name to the amendment in order to support the noble Baroness. I have little to add, except to say that we now have two inquests pending. Two people have been killed in circumstances that require an inquest. Until the law is clarified it seems that these inquests will remain in limbo. The Minister has encouraged us to look forward to the forthcoming coroners Bill. Even if that were to take place as we have been led to expect and the inquest was subsequently dealt with expeditiously, the family would have had to wait at least four years before there was a conclusion to the matter. If the forthcoming legislation does not come in as planned, it may be very much longer for the first case that we are discussing. The obligation under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights to have a prompt inquiry into a death at the hands of an agent of the state is a heavy one. It is a vital part of the state’s accountability to its citizens. At the moment, this cannot happen in those cases because of the anomaly that this amendment seeks to remove. As the noble Baroness, Lady Miller, has said, I, too, hope that the Minister has had second thoughts about his objections to this provision and will be able to support what is being proposed.