Crime (International Co-operation) Act 2003 (Designation of Participating Countries) (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) (No. 2) Order 2009

I thank noble Lords for their various comments and I thank the noble Lord, Lord Henley, for his kind words about my exposition at the beginning of the debate. I had to get that spelt out to me by the team because I was a bit confused myself, so I am glad that it was useful. I appreciate the views expressed. I shall run through various points. As regards the consent of the prisoner, I am unaware of the exact total. The team is not aware of that but we will write on that specific point. The noble Lord, Lord Henley, asked why different countries are designated for different sections. This reflects the terms of the international agreements to which the order gives effect. I hope that that is a good enough answer. If it is not, I am very happy to explain more expansively in writing, if that would help. The noble Lord, Lord Thomas of Gresford, was absolutely right about banking in Switzerland. As I understand what we are doing now, under the terms of the agreement between the European Union and Switzerland, Switzerland has agreed to provide such evidence. We think there is no reason to believe that it will not fulfil its obligations under that agreement. We will have to watch very closely and see that that happens. I agree entirely that this has not always presented a very good picture in the past and that it has been an area of great difficulty. As regards BAE, I will not speak on an individual case but I know the sensitivities and issues that surround that. However, as I say, I will not talk about an individual case today. One thing I did not mention, which I think I probably should have talked about, is Scotland. Scotland brings forward its own secondary legislation, and has done so. It is being debated and should pass into law. Then the whole of the United Kingdom will move forward from there. I think that that covers the points raised. I believe that this order is necessary to allow the United Kingdom to continue to fulfil its international obligations and ensure that we can successfully prosecute international crime and achieve justice for British victims of such crime. As such, it is a good thing to happen. I commend the order to the House. Motion agreed.