Terrorist Asset-Freezing (Temporary Provisions) Bill

My right hon. Friend is right. The Government have sought to limit scrutiny of legislation on a series of measures and they have sought to override the interests of Parliament. At the heart of the reasons behind the need for the Bill today is the fact that the Government overrode the interests of Parliament—they circumvented Parliament and they are paying the price for that by having to force through this Bill. I was referring to the Prime Minister's speech at Chatham House. He went on to say:"““And such is the threat that the message must go out: we will not yield, relax, rest, ever become complacent or lower our guard.””" But it seems that the complacency to which the then Chancellor of the Exchequer referred was complacency at the heart of the Treasury, which failed, despite repeated warnings, to put the orders on a proper basis that would withstand legal challenge. As I shall set out in more detail later, the Treasury has had plenty of warnings about the legislative basis for the orders, but it was complacent and it failed to act, thereby putting us in the position that we are in today of needing to pass the legislation to safeguard our nation's interests. This is another example of the Government's cavalier attitude to Parliament. The orders, which deny fundamental human rights, were put in place without proper parliamentary scrutiny. Let me give my right hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk, Coastal (Mr. Gummer) a few more examples. The Supreme Court announced that it was quashing the orders on the same day that the Exchequer Secretary was brought before the House to explain why there had not been proper parliamentary scrutiny of another Treasury decision that related to terrorism. Later this month, we are to debate a package of reforms that will strengthen the House and weaken the Executive's grip on it, but the relevant order has been written in a way that minimises the chance of those reforms going through. Even in their dying days, the Government have yet to learn that one cannot ignore Parliament. Today's emergency Bill is a reminder of what can happen when one does. If the Government had respected Parliament and put primary legislation in place, they would have avoided having to rush through these emergency measures today. I do not particularly want to rehearse the details of the case that the Supreme Court heard or the reasons for the Court's judgment, but I think that we need to understand why the Government are having to introduce this Bill today. As I have said, we all recognise the importance that finances and access to the financial system play in terrorism. The three orders that are covered by the Bill restrict the ability of those who are suspected of involvement in terrorist acts to access their money and the system, but that process is intrusive, as Lord Hope made clear in paragraph 38 of the Court's judgment. He said:"““The effect of the regimes that the””" terrorism order and the al-Qaeda order"““impose is that every transaction, however small, which involves the making of any payments or the passing of funds or economic resources whether directly or indirectly for the benefit of a designated person is criminalised. This affects all aspects of his life, including his ability to move around at will by any means of private or public transport.””" He went on to say, in paragraph 39:"““For example, HAY has been denied access to any funds since September 2005. His only permitted subsistence support is in kind provided by his wife. She is permitted, by licence from the Treasury, to access welfare benefits, which are the family's sole source of support. But she may spend money only on what the Treasury determines are 'basic expenses'. Until recently she was required to report to the Treasury on every item of household expenditure, however small, including expenditure by her children.””" The impact of the restrictions on the lives of the people who are affected by the orders should not be underestimated. In paragraph 31, Lord Hope referred to three suspects—A, K and M—and explained the effects of the orders on them. He said:"““A and K no longer live with their families, and their current whereabouts are unknown. Their solicitor, with whom they have not been in contact for a number of months, attributes their ""disappearance to the damaging effects upon them and their families of the regimes to which they were subjected by the Treasury. It placed an extraordinary burden on their wives, created significant mental health difficulties and led ultimately to the breakdown of their marriages. M's marriage has also broken down, but he has continued to have a close relationship with his children. He lives at his ex-wife's address where his children live also.””"