Terrorism Bill

I shall be brief, for obvious reasons. I want the Lords to continue to oppose the inclusion of the word ““glorification”” on the face of the Bill. I am no more a supporter of criminal terrorist acts than is any other hon. Member, but using such loose wording in legislation could be very dangerous. It could lead to some very dangerous and perverse prosecutions. Earlier, the hon. Member for Beaconsfield (Mr. Grieve) gave some examples of how that could happen. Over the years, I have been to many meetings when the virtues of the Easter rising have been extolled, and the speeches made at those meetings could well be construed as glorifying what some people would call a terrorist act. In my part of London, Sir Roger Casement is a figure of veneration, rather than of condemnation, and there is no doubt that that is true in many other places. I have also attended celebrations of India’s independence day, when speakers have extolled the virtue of the various figures who played a part in bringing that about that independence. In certain circumstances, I am sure that those speakers could be prosecuted under the Bill.