Clause 80 ordered to stand part of the Bill. - Clause 81 - Inspection of overseas information systems
Crime (International Co-operation) Bill [Lords]
9:15 am
Mr David Heath (Somerton and Frome, Liberal Democrat)
I welcome you to the Chair, Mr. Benton.
The hon. Gentleman has made a valid point, but it is a forlorn hope that anyone could keep track of the information system. That is not to argue against Britain entering the Schengen information system, but simply to recognise the beast that it has become. As we discussed on Second Reading, 49,000 terminals were attached two years ago—goodness knows how many there are now—with tens of thousands of people accessing the system throughout Europe and thousands inputting information. The difficulty is that with so many people inputting information into a common system, it is inevitable that mistakes will be made. We know from our own domestic experience that the police crime computer is capable of holding incorrect information on people for a long time without anyone noticing, and the police sometimes act incorrectly on the basis of that incorrect information.
We should express our concern, but I can see the advantages of being within such an information system. I do not know what the remedy is other than to recognise that it is a very large database and capable of causing error in a big way. The commissioner will have a very big job.