My Lords, I thank the Minister for introducing the measure so clearly. I agree with what he said. It is regrettable that I have had to cover a number of organisations to be proscribed—regrettable because we are living in an age, unfortunately, when there are organisations which abuse our liberties and freedoms. They are either terrorist organisations themselves or they support terror.
Indeed, we live in an age of heightened conflict. Next week, I and other noble Lords will be considering another suite of sanctions related to the conflict in Ukraine, and I will be receiving a delegation of Lebanese who are fearful for the security in that country—the country the Minister referred to.
These are difficult times. Therefore, as we protect our communities as well as our freedoms and liberties, it is unfortunately necessary to have measures such as these. The Minister said, quite rightly, that there are high bars to be reached before proscription. I know that he will not comment on the previous attempts at proscription—I also read the reference to the previous calls; I do not expect him to comment on that—but I will ask him a few questions on the measures coming forward.
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Before doing so, I note very strongly that the Community Security Trust and the Board of Deputies of British Jews have supported these measures. One of
the more regrettable activities in the UK since October has been the heightened level of anti-Semitism. It is to be noted also that there has been an increase in the number of incidents of Islamophobia. The level of tensions in our societies has been heighted, but that is not an excuse for anti-Semitism or for putting fear into part of our community.
I am sure that the Home Office has been monitoring this very closely, and I would be grateful to hear, either today or in writing, whether the Minister has information on the monitoring of cases of anti-Semitism. What are the levels of prosecutions at the moment? The Minister spoke with great passion in previous debates on the need for the police to prosecute. It is clear that, even after 100 days, many parts of our communities do not feel safe. I have many friends, as do other noble colleagues in this House, whose families and friends still live in fear and intimidation. That is unacceptable in the United Kingdom.
On the wider aspects of this measure, the Minister referred not only to the UK link—the British arm—but to its wider reach. He referenced the headquarters in Lebanon. I note that government advice had been provided for British residents to leave Lebanon a number of weeks ago. I would be grateful if the Minister wrote to me on the Government’s assessment on both travel advice and the safety and security of British residents abroad. As he said, it is our duty to ensure that our country is safe, while our nationals are safe and receive the best quality advice if they are resident in, work in or travel to another country.
On the impact in the UK, I note that no impact assessment of this measure has been carried out—it does not necessarily meet the threshold—although that is not a criticism. The Government stated:
“There is no, or no significant, impact on the public sector”
or on
“business, charities or voluntary bodies”.
If that relates to the police, does the Minister have an assessment of whether there are likely to be prosecutions, given what he outlined on unacceptable behaviour? He may say that Ministers never comment on such things, but we need to be prepared, if we are proscribing organisations, to ensure that our police are properly equipped to enforce the proscriptions once Parliament has approved them.
This country benefits from a great tradition of freedom of speech and expression. We will always oppose incitement and prejudice leading to fear and a lack of safety for individuals. Regrettably, some organisations abuse that, so it is correct that we need action.
I will close on an unrelated matter, if the Minister will give me some forbearance. We will next interact on Monday, on the Rwanda treaty, about which I wrote to the Foreign Secretary. The Minister is nodding, indicating that I may receive a reply, so I am grateful for that. On that basis, I hope he will accept our support and be able to respond in kind.