Moved by
Earl Attlee
9: Clause 2, page 3, line 46, at end insert—
“(3) After section 2 of the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 insert—
2A Potting
(1) A person commits an offence of potting if the person—
(a) maliciously causes an emergency worker to unwillingly or unwittingly come into direct contact with any substance containing urine, excrement or ejaculate,
(b) is in custody and causes or permits their own urine or excrement to be intercepted without lawful reason or excuse, or
(c) is in custody and causes or permits their own ejaculate to be intercepted without lawful reason or excuse.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1)(a), a substance that looks and smells as if it contains urine or excrement is to be taken to contain such substances.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (1)(b), only in exceptional circumstances may the court accept a defence of “lawful reason or excuse” in the absence of evidence of a prior direction by a clinically qualified person.
(4) In each and every case where the alleged offence takes place in a custodial environment and the Crown Prosecution Service decide not to prosecute on the grounds of not being in the public interest, the Lord Chancellor must be notified within 28 days of any such decision being made.
(5) The Secretary of State must ensure that sufficient suitable kits for collecting evidence samples are available within the Prison Service.
(6) A person guilty of an offence to which this section applies is liable—
(a) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months;
(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years.””