Schedule 2 - The Independent Police - Complaints Commission
Police Reform Bill [Lords]
2:30 pm
Mr Norman Baker (Lewes, Liberal Democrat)
I, too, welcome you to the Chair, Miss Widdecombe. I am grateful to the Under-Secretary for giving a straight answer. I must confess that in the 60 seconds before the Committee adjourned this morning, we had a sort of anti-matter ''Just a Minute'' in which he tried to deviate, hesitate and repeat as much as possible in order to get by without answering the question.
I understand the Under-Secretary's answer, and why he has come to that conclusion, but it does not exactly square with the commitment to accountability that he was keen to stress before lunch as the reason why the Home Secretary had to be involved. He argued that that was in order for Parliament to have a say in the matter and have some sort of lever to pull. Now he is arguing that if the Home Secretary turns down an appointment, we will know nothing about it unless people such as myself ask parliamentary questions. You will note, Miss Widdecombe, the Under-Secretary's invitation for me to do just that.
Surely it would be possible for the fact that an appointment had been rejected to be made public without the reasons behind such an action being made public. A safeguard needs to be inserted. Let us suppose that the commission recommended someone for the key position, who had through public statements or other aspects of his or her life demonstrated a commitment to, say, freedom of information or independence of thought, or that he or she was of a different political persuasion from the Home Secretary of the day. If that person were turned down—having been recommended by the commission that concluded that he or she was the best person for the job—it should be a matter for public record that the Home Secretary had taken such action.