Bribery Bill [HL]

The passage the noble Lord has just read out shows that the noble Baroness, Lady Whitaker, is correct. The basis upon which authorisation was sought was too broad in the opinion of the Joint Committee. The passage the noble Lord has just read—I do not have the report in front of me at the moment—suggests that it thought the basis upon which authorisation was sought in the draft Bill was too wide. Authorisations are well-established in statute and in statutory provisions relating, for example, to the security services. I would have thought them to be the best way forward in this difficult area—assuming, of course, that there is a need for exemptions from the bribery provisions in respect of such services.