Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) Order 2006

My Lords, none of your Lordships would wish to challenge the fact that it is the duty of Governments to protect their citizens from terrorist activities. I neither challenge that nor wish to say anything about the four organisations listed, because the Secretary of State, his department and his Ministers have a knowledge of the facts that I, at any rate, and I suspect most of your Lordships do not share. However, as the Minister indicated, it is important to make a careful investigation when a body is proscribed, because of the serious effect on not only the activity of its members and supporters, but on those interested in its political activities. It is most important that, from time to time, there should be a serious review of the activities of that body to see whether proscription continues to be justified. All parties in the House have accepted that as a proposition. Unless that is done, there is a serious risk not only of injustice to individuals, but that there will be abuse of the freedom of speech and the freedom to ventilate political opinion. I therefore hope that the Minister will reiterate that the Government accept the importance of this kind of review. As the noble Lord, Lord Waddington, said, this is not the right occasion to ask the Minister to give a ruling on a specific organisation such as the PMOI—although the noble Lord has given very strong grounds indicating what the Minister’s answer should be. I wish to adopt a lower key, and a lesser demand, although I share the views of the noble Lord, Lord Waddington. It is essential that this review should be carried out in depth and seriously. When one body on the proscribed list was said by the Foreign Secretary at the time of proscription to have never committed any terrorist offences in the United Kingdom; when, after many months of deep interrogation and inquiry by the American security authorities of PMOI members in the Ashraf camp in Iraq, there was no evidence of terrorist activities; when a raid by the French police on the headquarters of a body which, according to the press, produced nothing that could indicate any kind of terrorist activity, and when the umbrella body of that organisation is not listed as a proscribed organisation, surely the Government are under a clear and powerful duty to investigate and to be really satisfied that this proscription continues to be justified. If it is not justified, then serious injustice may be done and there may be a restriction on freedom of speech and on democracy that we in this country should not seek to establish a record for upholding. I therefore urge the Minister to consider accepting—even if she cannot give us an indication tonight, although I hope that she will—that the Government need seriously, carefully, fairly and openly to consider the position of the PMOI, not as one of a group of 10, 15 or 20 organisations, but as an independent body whose record over the past few years can be investigated in great depth. If she does so, then I suggest, with great respect, that the answer may well be the one expected by the noble Lord, Lord Waddington, and the noble Baroness, Lady Harris. They accepted that she was not expected to give the answer tonight, but thought that it would be a good idea for her to give it pretty soon.