Terrorism Bill (Programme) (No. 2)

I agree with the right hon. and learned Member for Rushcliffe (Mr. Clarke), although I recall that it was the noble Lord Heseltine who had a fondness for wielding the Mace. But apart from that—[Interruption.] Ron Brown played a secondary role in Mace-wielding. I never wielded it at all, as I remember, but never mind. I support the comments of the hon. Member for Beaconsfield (Mr. Grieve), and I have a very specific reason for being concerned about this programme motion.—[Interruption.] During last week’s debate—at which I seem to remember the hon. Member for East Renfrewshire (Mr. Murphy) was not even present—the Home Secretary was forced to concede, by letter to the hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr. Carmichael), that"““I can confirm that the Lord Advocate has not been asked for, or expressed any view on the proposed extension of the maximum period of detention without charge.””" That admirably candid admission on the part of the Home Secretary is somewhat at variance with the briefings from the Scottish Executive, and was extracted after debate. Understandably, many Scottish colleagues who are interested in whether the senior Scottish law officer has been consulted on these matters wanted to pursue the same question today in respect of stop-and-search, glorification and the commission of offences abroad. If this timetable renders reaching these crucial matters impossible, the right of Scottish Members to find out whether the Lord Advocate has been consulted on them, and how this Bill interrelates with Scottish criminal law, will also be curtailed. Of course, the Home Secretary would be straying out of order if he gave us that information in discussing other amendments to, and clauses and passages in, the Bill. But I fear that this timetable will make it simply impossible to pursue the entirely legitimate questions of whether Scotland’s senior law officer has been consulted on any of the Bill’s crucial parts, and whether the Home Secretary was in blissful ignorance of the Lord Advocate’s advice on glorification, the commission of offences abroad and stop-and-search, as he candidly admitted he was in respect of 90-day detention. In terms of the protection of the House, this programme motion deals with key matters. In terms of the protection and legitimate rights of Scottish Members, and our ability to question what bearing Scottish criminal law has on these proceedings, this motion is far too strict.