Clause 70 - Committal by magistrates' court
Proceeds of Crime Bill
3:00 pm
Mr Dominic Grieve (Beaconsfield, Conservative)
No, I am not. As I have already said, the novel aspect of the new regime being introduced by the Government is that civil proceedings can be brought against a person who has never had a criminal conviction. I do not think that I had better ask for confessions in Committee, especially from those of us who drive motor vehicles. Despite many years of driving, I am in the fortunate position—touch wood—of not having any criminal convictions in relation to that. However, if I asked for confessional statements from members of the Committee, some might fall within the category of having a previous criminal conviction. Furthermore, some members of the Committee might even fall within the category of appearing to have a criminal lifestyle. Criminal lifestyle is based on convictions for gain and people benefiting from certain conduct. It you drive without a light on the back of your car, it could be argued that you have benefited from the fact that you did not replace the bulb.