Serious Crime Bill [HL]

We on these Benches have always made it clear that we do not want this to be either/or. We would much prefer there to be a criminal prosecution. Our concern and the concern of those who have been briefing all Members of the House is that the Government are going down the route of having that option available to them. I know that there are other amendments in the names of the noble Lords, Lord Thomas of Gresford and Lord Dholakia, that will fully explore that concern, so I shall not stray into it now. The noble Lord, Lord Dear, very properly asked me, as did the BBA, why my amendment dealt only with robbery using firearms. My answer is very prosaic: when I looked at the list, my immediate response was, ““Why not armed robbery?””. I could understand why not murder or manslaughter, because they are a matter of people being on licence. I chose armed robbery because one is not automatically on licence when one is released. This seemed to me to be a serious matter, and I tabled the amendment as a litmus paper to test where the Government were going. I simply asked the Public Bill Office to draft a probing amendment and made it clear to the office that I did not intend to divide the Committee. It came up with this amendment, which I accepted with my usual gratitude, as I had had no work to do. However, I agree with the noble Lord, Lord Dear, and the British Bankers’ Association that armed robbery carried out with other weapons is equally heinous and must be treated as a serious crime.