Human Rights

My hon. Friend is spot on. It is not just a question of applying the law but of the impact of the Act on the police and many other practitioners in the legal and justice system. It has created a risk-averse culture, which has had many unintended consequences. The Anthony Rice case was mentioned by the Minister, and it is a good example of the unintended and often perverse consequences of the Human Rights Act. Anthony Rice was wrongly released on licence and went on, as the Minister pointed out, to commit the tragic murder of Naomi Bryant. The Bridges report that investigated the case made it quite clear that a factor that influenced officials who dealt with Rice was the concern that he might sue them under the Human Rights Act. Officials and organisations are therefore constantly looking over their shoulder. [Interruption.] Indeed, they are wrong to do so, but that culture has become part of the way in which those organisations operate. Recently, police have tried to recapture foreign ex-prisoners who should have been deported but who went on the run instead. The obvious thing to do would be to issue ““Wanted”” posters, but police forces across the country refused to do so on the grounds that it would breach the Human Rights Act. However many missives, directives and items of guidance the Lord Chancellor sends out, in many forces and other organisations there is a risk-averse culture that cannot be changed overnight.