Counter-Terrorism Bill (Programme) (No. 2)

I do not doubt that that is an absolutely fair point, but it is not relevant to our deliberations. However, I am sure that the right hon. and learned Gentleman will pursue the matter elsewhere. Government amendments Nos. 57, 58 and 59 mean that post-charge questioning for terrorism suspects could be authorised for up to 24 hours, in the first instance by an officer of the rank of superintendent, and that any subsequent questioning would require authorisation by a justice of the peace. The justice of the peace could authorise detention for post-charge questioning for a maximum period of up to five days if they believed that such questioning was in the interests of justice and that the police were conducting their investigation diligently and expeditiously. Further periods of detention for questioning would require a further application to a justice of the peace. I have also prepared an initial draft of PACE code H, which will apply in the post-charge questioning of terrorism suspects, and that includes further safeguards. In particular, those PACE safeguards will include a right to legal representation during all questioning, will require the authorisation of post-charge questioning by an officer of the rank of at least superintendent in conjunction with the prosecutor, and will limit the circumstances in which the questioning could proceed. Our amendments, when considered in conjunction with the amendments to PACE code H, will provide sufficient safeguards for suspects subject to post-charge questioning. I would like now to comment on the amendments and the new clause tabled by others, which all call for authorisation by a judge. That would be inappropriate, as it would create a significant and unnecessary burden. Authorisation by a High Court judge could require extensive work by the police and the prosecutors to prepare the case for judicial authorisation. Furthermore, as the Director of Public Prosecutions told the Committee,"““judicial oversight…could significantly slow down the process.””––[Official Report, Counter-Terrorism Public Bill Committee, 22 April 2008; c. 45, Q118.]" Amendments Nos. 15 and 16 would require a judge to accept that"““there are reasonable grounds for believing the original charge was appropriate””." That could lead to lengthy proceedings, which could be tantamount to the trial for the offence. Authorisation by a judge would also be a costly use of the court's time. New clause 4 would prevent post-charge questioning before the commencement of trial. The Government do not believe that the Bill should make express provision for that, as there may be situations when questioning close to the trial is unavoidable, such as to prevent the person from causing injury to others or if a retrial were to occur. In such cases, every effort would be made to discuss the issue with the suspect, or his or her legal representatives, in order to minimise disruption to the court process. Guidance on that is covered in the draft codes of practice, which make it clear that police and prosecutors should seek to avoid post-charge questioning that may limit or restrict the ability of the person, or his or her defence, to prepare adequately for court proceedings. New clause 4 would require the presence of the defendant's lawyer before questioning could take place. The Government accept that all those subject to post-charge questioning should have access to legal representation. Indeed, we have made explicit provision for that in the draft codes of practice. However, we are concerned that new clause 4 would allow the suspect to veto questioning, as they could simply refuse to allow a lawyer to represent their interests. New clause 4 confines the questioning to new evidence that has become available since the accused person was charged. We believe that it would not be appropriate or practical to confine post-charge questioning to new evidence that has become available only following charge.