Clause 6 - Making of order
Proceeds of Crime Bill
10:30 am
Mr Bob Ainsworth (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Home Office; Coventry North East, Labour)
The hon. Gentleman may understand these matters better than I do, but I have shown clearly the accepted precedent in law that the required standard of proof for the balance of probabilities varies with the seriousness of the offence. I do not know whether he contests that. The purpose of our wording is clear. We reject the amendment because it would be a retrograde step to accept it. It would apply the criminal standard to all confiscation proceedings, and that would be difficult to implement and would render the legislation useless. A change of wording from the civil standard to the balance of probabilities is not intended to change the evidence that is required. However, that is not the criminal standard. That standard applies in some civil litigation and that is potentially confusing. The standard is flexible. The more serious the allegation, the greater the degree of proof required by the courts under the balance of probabilities.