Clause 6 - Personation: arrestable offence
European Parliamentary and Local Elections (Pilots) Bill
4:45 pm
Mr David Heath (Somerton and Frome, Liberal Democrat)
I will certainly not decry my hon. Friend the Member for Mid-Dorset and North Poole if she said that the hon. Gentleman had gone on too long about anything. My experience of our proceedings suggests that he almost certainly had gone on too long, as do his hon. Friends. However, that does not alter the fact that such points are extremely important, as I made clear on Second Reading. They have not been dealt with adequately and we shall have to return to them on Report. They are entirely relevant to the personation offence that is discussed in the clause. Surely we want to prevent personation. First, we want to ensure that appropriate measures are in place to prevent personation. Secondly, measures should be in place to deter personation. Thirdly, measures should be in place to ensure that the evidence is there for the arrest, indictment and successful prosecution of those who indulge in personation. I have no confidence at present that those measures are in place.