That is an extremely important part of this amendment—it makes sure that those protections are very much still in place, as indeed they already are under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. Censorship is a notoriously slippery slope. It might not be our thoughts that are being criminalised today, but we should be careful not to open the door to that happening tomorrow to other opinions that people might hold about something else.
3.30 pm
The Sugg amendments do provide some welcome scope for an improvement to address some of the concerns that I have mentioned, but issues remain, which is why I have tabled my amendments to Lords amendment 5. Amendment (a) would provide much-needed clarity to the broad and vague terminology of “influencing” currently in the Sugg amendment. My amendments would introduce no substantive changes to the revised clause 10 and, whatever individuals’ opinions of it are, they would therefore respect the desire of both Houses to introduce buffer zones. But I also seek to ensure that any law doing that does not impose an unreasonable limit on freedom of speech and thought, as was seen in the recent prosecution against those engaged—I can still hardly believe I am saying this in the House of Commons—in silent prayer.
My amendment (a) would therefore specify and exempt consensual communication, silent prayer, and peaceful presence from criminalisation. My amendment (b) would pause the implementation of censorship zones until the Government carry out a review into what is really going on outside clinics in the UK, not those in the US or other countries. In 2018, this same Government found that such zones would be “disproportionate” and unnecessary, because the vast majority of activity was peaceful and helpful, instances of harassment were rare and existing legislation was perfectly capable of dealing with any instances of criminality. What has changed? Law must be evidence-based, but the evidential basis for the crackdown has been paltry. I hope my elected colleagues will join me in demanding that our laws are fair, just and considered. It is an abdication of good and standard process that this part of the Bill has made it this far in its current state.
Much of what it is claimed the buffer zones will deal with is already dealt with in law, and more effectively, under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.