Clause 17
Railways and Transport Safety Bill
11:00 am
Mrs Anne McIntosh (Vale of York, Conservative)
My hon. Friend makes a pertinent and well-made point, and we will have the opportunity during discussions on part 3 to examine that request. I hope that the Minister will have heard that and will respond to it.
The jurisdiction of the British Transport police authority has already been extended beyond the railways in certain circumstances through the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001, and some changes to the powers of the British Transport police were included in the Police Reform Act 2002. My understanding is that the Bill completes the package of changes and the Government's 2001 consultation exercise.
We have an opportunity to commend the work of the British Transport police. Its morale is reasonably high, in spite of the fact that railways may be a terrorist target—I hesitate to say that, given that I travel by rail to my constituency most weekends. It is welcome that the legislation, tidies up the ways in which the transport police are operated and empowered, as well as putting the extension of the powers of the transport police on a statutory footing.
The British Transport police are the national police force for the railways in Great Britain. I do not know whether my hon. Friend the Member for Westbury (Dr. Murrison) was arguing that it should have responsibility only for the railways. It is already responsible for the London underground, the Docklands light railway, the Croydon tramlink and the Midland metro. Its activities include law and order policing, maintaining the Queen's peace and protecting railway staff and the public on the railways. It is regrettable that, in an age in which everybody is under pressure and stress on their way to and from work—not just on the railways but at airports and ports—transport staff are subjected to aggressive and often abusive behaviour. That makes their work difficult and is creating additional work for the British Transport police. The force is commendable; it deals with all crimes, including the most serious crimes, which are not necessarily on the railways but are those that affect women as they leave railway stations, who are very vulnerable. The British Transport police have to investigate murder, violent sexual offences, robberies, theft, fraud and a host of other incidents including accidents, fatalities and suicides. It is another sign of the times that there is an increased tendency for people to throw themselves in front of trains, notably on the London tube.