Criminal Justice Act 2003 (Mandatory Life Sentence: Determination of Minimum Term) Order 2010

I join noble Lords in congratulating the Minister on this initiative and the clarity with which she explained its content. I also join in the condolences to those who have suffered in consequence of murder. I regard the 2003 Act, brought about by the decision of the House of Lords in Anderson v Home Secretary, as one of the wisest developments of the past decade in the law of murder. I regard it as a failure that we have not somehow been able to partition the punishment for murder into those areas which require proper partitioning, rather than having a blanket overall punishment. This is not levelled at this Government alone. I am not the first nor, I am sure, the last to make those comments. It is entirely proper that one should set a high penalty, at a starting point of 25 years, for the use of a knife in bringing about murder. Having said that, I am somewhat intrigued by the wording—which is, I think, the same as that quoted by the noble and learned Baroness—that appears at paragraph 7.1 of the Explanatory Memorandum and explains the scope of this measure, ""25 years for adults who murder using a knife or other weapon taken to the scene with the intention to commit an offence or of having it available for use as a weapon"." The scope of that can be considerable. If the intention is to deal with a situation where a person uses a knife intending to cause grievous bodily harm or to kill, I can well understand it. Those are the two areas of mens rea relevant to murder. I could also well understand it if with "knife" one said ejusdem generis, that is, "or similar weapon". However, the trouble with using just the word "weapon" is that a person might have a relatively innocuous weapon that is intended to be used for a relatively innocuous purpose—for example, for no more than joining in an affray. If some of the wording is left as wide as that, it seems to me that there will be difficulties. Having said that, I have little doubt that the discretion of a wise and sensible judge would cure practically all these difficulties. I tender my apologies to the noble and learned Baroness and the Committee in that I am already late for an urgent appointment and will therefore beat a hasty retreat.