Bribery Bill [HL]

I am very grateful to the noble Lord for that explanation. My Amendments 21 and 32 are designed to remove Clause 12(1)(a), which refers to, ""the prevention, detection or investigation by, or on behalf of, a law enforcement agency of serious crime"." Clause 12(1)(a) casts a wide net. It includes not just the police but all law enforcement agencies and those acting on their behalf. The Select Committee on the Constitution notes that other organisations covered would include HM Revenue and Customs, the United Kingdom Border Agency, local authority trading standards, environmental health officers and others. It would be helpful if the Minister could give the committee a full and comprehensive list of all the agencies that will be covered, which under Clause 12 will be able to engage in bribery and get away with it if their actions are in pursuit of, or necessary for preventing, detecting or investigating serious crime, as defined by Sections 81(2) and (3) of RIPA, which is itself a wide definition. The most striking remark made in the Constitution Committee’s report is: ""Drawing the defence in terms as wide as this jeopardises the constitutional principle of the rule of law"." Those are very strong words from a highly respected committee of your Lordships’ House. I am sure that noble Lords will agree that there are good reasons, which we will debate shortly, why organisations involved in protecting national security have that defence under Clause 12, but there seems to be a less strong case for myriad domestic organisations to be given the go-ahead to commit bribery. The report recommends in paragraph 12 that: ""Unless compelling evidence is produced as to why clause 12(1)(a) is necessary in respect of each of the law enforcement agencies to which it may apply, it should be omitted"." I have tabled this as a probing amendment, and it is now up to the Government to do what they can to justify Clause 12(1)(a). No doubt other noble Lords will have comments that they wish to make, but I look forward to hearing the Government’s views on why the subsection is necessary. I beg to move.