Violent Crime Reduction Bill

First, I thank the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs (Nick Herbert) for his full and generous welcome for the amendments. I shall try to ignore what were, in general, rather flaccid and petty attempts at making party political points. They were entirely unnecessary, given that the House broadly accepts all the measures before us. I tell the hon. Member for Woking (Mr. Malins), who is a recorder, and the hon. Members for Broxbourne (Mr. Walker), and for Castle Point (Bob Spink), that we are not talking about the demonisation of all our children and young people—and I do not say that to seem politically correct in any way. If the hon. Member for Woking assumes that any of the provisions are a panacea or silver bullet—I hope that that is not mixing metaphors—he is profoundly wrong, and no one on the Government Benches has said that they are. We simply say that although awareness, education and initiatives such as knife amnesties are important, they work alongside the existing law and the improvements being made to it by the Bill. Without wishing to be churlish, I suggest that he has a word with his brother judges, when such cases come before them, about the leniency, or otherwise, that he alleged. We can tackle the scourge of knives only if all those matters are considered duly. As to the petty party political points, everyone in the Chamber knows that there has been significant public and other political debate on the subject in the period between the Bill leaving the Chamber and being considered in the other place. It is only right and proper that a responsible and reflective Government should take account of those—[Interruption.] The hon. Member for Wealden (Charles Hendry) laughs, as though the matter were trivial. This is a serious matter, which should be dealt with accordingly—and it has been dealt with in that way. I shall ignore some of the other points made, which could best be described as rambling sophistry, if that language is not unparliamentary, particularly those made by the hon. Member for Woking. These are serious matters that should be dealt with in a serious way. On the serious point made by my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Medway (Mr. Marshall-Andrews), regulations are not simply put before the House and rubber-stamped. I understand that there will be scope for both Chambers to discuss airsoft and other matters when the regulations come before the House. I do not share his overall doom-and-gloom position on the integrity of the Bill, in terms of what we do following consultation on airsoft. People will have a chance to return to that subject and others when those regulations come before the House—that will be sooner rather than later—once the Bill secures Royal Assent. With that, I commend the Lords amendments to the House. Lords amendment agreed to. Lords amendments Nos. 34 to 66 agreed to.