Serious Crime Bill [Lords]

As I listened to the debate, I became increasingly concerned by a thought that has been bearing down on me with ever greater force. Our ancestors would have gone to the stake before they allowed such a measure to pass through the House. In itself and cumulatively with other measures, it represents the most massive extension of the state’s powers that we have experienced for many years. If the Bill receives a Second—let alone a Third—Reading, the fundamental safeguards of admissibility of evidence and the protections against the state bringing abusive allegations based on flimsy evidence that are inherent in a criminal trial will be set aside, and a man or women could be found liable for the most serious crimes solely on the basis of written evidence, submitted even in the defendant’s absence, that he is guilty of a serious crime and is likely still to be committing serious crimes. The burden of proof will not be the criminal standard—namely, that a jury should be sure beyond reasonable doubt—but that a judge is satisfied that the defendant is probably guilty: that, on the balance of the evidence, it is likely that the defendant was involved, as the Serious Fraud Office or the Director of Public Prosecutions contends. Several hundred years have gone by during which the right to a fair trial in this country was hard fought for and dearly achieved, not only by Conservative and Liberal Members, but Members who sat on the Government side, as it now is. The trade unions and those who fought against the Executive and abuse of power by the Executive struggled for the due process through which the state had to pass to produce a conviction. The Bill raises fundamental questions of principle. How many of the consequences of conviction is it reasonable to impose on an individual without providing the evidence that can make a jury sure of guilt? Let us postulate that an individual is the subject of an application by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 provides that his assets can be seized by civil process, provided that it is deemed or proved, on the balance of probabilities, that they are likely to have been acquired by criminal activity.