Terrorist Asset-Freezing (Temporary Provisions) Bill

I thank all hon. Members for their contributions to the debate on the amendments, including the hon. Member for Cambridge (David Howarth), who moved them, the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban), who spoke for the Opposition, and the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy (Mr. Llwyd), if I have pronounced that correctly. Before I address the amendments, I want to correct a point about the al-Jedda case. The case concerned the relationship between United Nations obligations and the European convention on human rights, when there is a conflict between the two. In al-Jedda, the House of Lords concluded that UN obligations override convention rights. That is, UN obligations take precedence when there is a conflict. However, the al-Jedda point arose in our case in relation to the al-Qaeda order only, which the Bill does not address. Individuals do not have a right of access to a court to challenge their designation. The al-Jedda point did not arise in relation to the terrorism orders—the subject matter of this Bill—because those orders do not contravene human rights in that way. Amendment 4 is intended to ensure that the orders have the same legal force as primary legislation. Amendment 6 adds a reference to the Bill in part 6 of the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008. I reject both amendments because I do not think they are needed, and I hope that the hon. Member for Cambridge will withdraw them. Giving the orders status as primary legislation would give the Government more protection from legal challenge than we believe would be right. The orders could not then be quashed by a court on human rights grounds. That is because a court can strike down an Order in Council on human rights grounds, but it can only declare an Act of Parliament incompatible with the Human Rights Act 1998. Our short Bill will ensure that our Orders in Council can continue to be set aside on human rights grounds until the permanent Bill is enacted. Adding a reference in the Bill to the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 is unnecessary because the Act already covers all decisions made under our orders. I move on now to amendment 5, new clause 1 and amendment 12. I listened with interest to the arguments that the hon. Members for Cambridge and for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy put forward. I want briefly to go back over why I feel that the substance of the proposals is wrong, but the main issue is that these are arguments for us to have on the longer Bill. Accepting the proposals would fundamentally change the nature of asset freezing. It would mean all freezing decisions being taken by the courts, and not by Ministers as at present. Ministers would be able only to refer freezing proposals to the High Court. Freezes based on reasonable suspicion could last for only one month, and would be renewed after a month only if a court could be persuaded that the subject were a terrorist. That would involve a higher test than reasonable suspicion, and it could be a test as high as a conviction. The changes would significantly reduce the operational effectiveness of the asset-freezing regime, which is designed to be preventive. Reasonable suspicion is a legal basis for asset freezing which is endorsed by the Financial Action Task Force. Under the current system, we do not simply rely on reasonable suspicion, however. Designations must also be necessary for public protection, which provides an additional safeguard. The proposals in these amendments would alter key aspects of the regime, including who made the decisions and what the legal standards should be. Those are fundamental points. The purpose of this temporary Bill is not to remake our asset-freezing regime; it is to restore the existing regime for a temporary period to allow for thorough consideration of the full Bill.