Clause 82 - Foreign surveillance operations
Crime (International Co-operation) Bill [Lords]
9:30 am
Mr Nick Hawkins (Surrey Heath, Conservative)
As my hon. Friend the Member for South-East Cambridgeshire points out from a sedentary position, that is not what Government
amendment No. 156 does. We shall return to that in a moment. I do not want to stray out of order by pre-empting the big argument that we shall have then, but my hon. Friend and I have warned the Minister that she will have a serious battle with Members from various parties in another place if she persists with that amendment.
I am well aware of the point that the Minister makes. She knows that Opposition Members have exceptionally strong views about the European arrest warrant, but we are discussing a different issue. There could be an essential safeguard in respect of hot surveillance, as it has been called. Its use should be restricted to matters that are crimes in UK law. That would be an important protection for our subjects. We do not want the matter to be opened up to things that might be regarded as crimes by judicial authorities in other countries, but that are not crimes here. That is an essential point. I hope that the Minister will accept amendment No. 72 even if she cannot accept amendment No. 71.