Counter-Terrorism Bill

My Lords, the point made by the noble and learned Lord, Lord Lloyd, about restoring—or perhaps ““building in”” if ““restoring”” is inappropriate—confidence in ethnic minority communities is extremely valuable. We know that one particular community—the Muslim community—is, on the whole, the subject of much of the plethora of terrorism legislation that we have seen in the past decade or so, and deservedly so because that is where part of the problem lies. I do not think that anyone in this debate is inferring that the police are at all dilatory in carrying out their functions. In order to build in confidence on the part of the community in the criminal justice system and in this particular system, there should be transparency, and the people who are held for long periods without charges being laid against them should be aware that an independent person is keeping an eye on things as they unfold and they should know that they have access to that person should anything untoward occur. Of course, that does not imply that anything untoward would occur but it would build in a safeguard. On that basis, I add my voice to those of others on these Benches in supporting the amendment.