Serious Crime Bill [HL]

I was away when the Bill started its passage through the House, so I come to it fresh. Looking seriously at this schedule for the first time, I am struck by the strange mix of serious offences—things included and omitted. We are later to have an amendment about armed robbery, which is not included. As a former chairman of the National Rivers Authority, I was a little surprised to see an offence under Section 1 of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975 at the top of the environment list—fishing for salmon, trout or freshwater fishwith prohibited implements. I am against that being permitted, but it hardly seems an offence in quite the same category as drug trafficking, people trafficking, prostitution, child sex, money-laundering and armed robbery. If we start with a seemingly curiously constructed list, it is rather odd that it can be amended simply because the Secretary of State decides to add to or subtract something from it. If we are to have a schedule of this kind, with all the possible consequences that have been spelled out, the Government must justify what is included in that list and not just be able to add to or subtract from it at will. I shall be interested to hear what the Minister has to say on this. Looking at the list, it seems that we must keep the whole thing tightly under control.