Counter-Terrorism Bill

moved Amendment No. 23: 23: Clause 24, page 18, line 25, at end insert— ““( ) The Lord Advocate shall publish guidelines about the questioning of a person by a constable in accordance with this section.”” The noble Lord said: My Lords, the amendment intends that the Lord Advocate should publish guidelines about the questioning of a person by a constable in accordance with the clause. In the previous debate, the noble Baroness, Lady Neville-Jones, referred to the draft code issued last week under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, and how she very much regretted its vagueness and lack of definition compared with the previous code. In England and Wales, however, at least there is a code that proceeds on a statutory basis. In Scotland, not only have we not seen any draft protocol or guidelines; there is no statutory basis for such guidelines to be issued. This issue was raised in Committee and the noble and learned Lord, Lord Boyd of Duncansby, a former Lord Advocate, indicated that he wanted the Lord Advocate to issue a protocol or guidelines. In his letter, the noble Lord, Lord West, indicated that the Lord Advocate has confirmed that she intends to issue guidelines on post-charge questioning in the same way as for the detention, treatment and questioning of persons arrested under Section 41 of the Terrorism Act. I welcome the fact that such guidelines are to be issued, but noble Lords will recognise that there is a world of difference between the statutory provisions that safeguard the way in which post-charge questioning takes place in England and Wales and the promise by the Lord Advocate to issue guidelines in Scotland. The amendment seeks to put this on a statutory footing. I have not yet been given a good reason why there should be a difference between how post-charge questioning provisions are implemented in Scotland and how they are implemented in England and Wales. I do not think that I need to elaborate further on this. Good intentions are fine and welcome, but I have not yet had a good explanation of why the provisions cannot proceed on a statutory basis, as is the case in the parts of the Bill dealing with England and Wales and Northern Ireland. I beg to move.