Counter-Terrorism Bill

My Lords, we supported this amendment in Committee when the noble Baroness, Lady Hanham, made an outstanding case for why the Government should listen seriously to the amendment. She has made an even stronger case today for this amendment, which we will support. It is a moderate amendment; it requires nothing other than national guidelines on the issue. That is why it is particularly surprising to us on these Benches that the Government have not felt able to move in the direction of issuing such guidelines and including this sensible amendment in the Bill. The noble Baroness has laid out eloquently why it needs to be done. I simply add that the increase in fingerprints and DNA taken from innocent individuals, from people volunteering after a crime has been committed, has been extraordinary over the past decade. The Government must recognise that, to keep public confidence in the system, continue to protect the innocent and, as the noble Baroness said, work on the presumption of innocence, the very least they could do is accept this moderate amendment.