My Lords, I have Amendments 57A and 57B in this group and share the concerns that have been expressed about the substance and transparency of the new clause and what the point of it is. In Committee, I asked that question rhetorically. I now ask—I hope it is not a rhetorical question—why we should not use a TPIM, as we have that legislation on the statute book. The conduct of the individuals concerned seems to fall into the same area, and this indeed raises the same issue—that the individual has not been prosecuted. If TPIMs are not to be used, it is bound to raise the suspicion that the power will mainly be exercised when an individual is out of the country.
The charitably funded Bureau of Investigative Journalism has identified 17 cases, mainly through FoI and court records, in 15 of which the individual was overseas at the time of the deprivation under the provisions as we now have them. If these individuals are regarded as such a high risk, I think we can assume that, having lost their status, they would be subject to close surveillance, certainly if they are in this country. If they are overseas, that might raise even wider matters.
I understand from officials—I thank them as well as the Minister—that if an individual, having been made stateless through this procedure, is in the UK, he will have limited leave to remain. I was referred to the relevant Immigration Rules. Under paragraphs 404 and 406, a person who is,
“a danger to the security or public order of the United Kingdom”,
will be refused leave to remain. Can the Minister tell noble Lords whether that person is then disqualified from leave to remain and what happens to him?
I understand from the old UKBA casework instruction on restricted leave that that will apply, and that restrictions and conditions can be imposed, including a residence restriction. Noble Lords will recall concerns about residence restrictions under the old control order regime. One of the concerns about those restrictions was the impact on the family of the individual subject of an order. Can the Minister explain what will happen to the family of an individual if, on the one hand, he is in this country and if, on the other, he is abroad? Does the family qualify for leave to remain in the circumstances of the individual being a danger to security or public order, as I have quoted? I mention all this because the impact on families was a concern about control orders, TPIMs and terrorist asset-freezing. Reporting on that has been a component in reviews, which we have seen, by successive independent reviewers.
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism mentioned to me two examples of the impact on families. One was of a Sudanese-born man who lost his citizenship. The bureau told me that a Home Office official said in evidence in court that the Government waited until he was overseas before removing it. He had taken his wife and four children to Sudan for the summer. That left the children effectively exiled as well. The other example was of a British-born man whose youngest son was born here and who remains a British citizen. He has developmental disorders and is dependent on both his parents. His mother wishes to return to the UK for treatment for the son but she cannot do so without her husband. One does not want to be too hearts and flowers about this. The issue that we are being asked to
consider is a tough one, but I think that the issue goes wider than just the individuals involved. I asked the Minister whether individuals and a family might be left without resources and so left destitute. Can he share with the House the Government’s position on that, particularly if the deprivation has been made while the individual is abroad?
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There is the much wider issue of the impact on the community of the individual. Tackling terrorism and the climate and circumstances in which openness to terrorism activities are fostered is a very big challenge. The way in which deprivation resulting in statelessness is perceived and the negative effect on a community worry me greatly. I will leave it to the noble Lord, Lord Pannick, to say whether those are the sorts of question that he has in mind for his proposed committee.
Because of the points of similarity with TPIMs, I went to the TPIMs legislation for my amendment in Committee, which I have tabled again as Amendment 57A. Noble Lords will understand that I do not seek the appointment of a “dependent reviewer”. I am not sure where that typo came from. Leaving that aside, there would an appointment of an independent reviewer to carry out annual reviews and report on them to the Secretary of State, with the report being laid before Parliament.
Transparency is hugely important, and I can see from my noble friend the Minister’s amendment that he agrees. I have not specified the current position of the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, although there would be a logic to it, but I am aware that his so-called part-time job has become a very big task and the issue of resources is obvious. I am glad to see the government amendment. The Minister has said that after the first report it would be necessary to report only every three years, because of the low numbers of people involved. That may be so, but each individual in that cohort is as important as the next.
My Amendment 57B points in the opposite direction in requiring quarterly information. The legislation on terrorist asset-freezing and TPIMs contains specific requirements for quarterly reporting by the Government, as well as annual reporting by the independent reviewer. The Home Office quarterly asset-freezing reports, with details of all pending cases that are now included, keep Parliament and the public involved. One sees them in the periodic Written Statements published by the Government and they are a reassurance as to how the state’s powers are being used. All this is behind my two amendments.