Mr Humfrey Malins (Woking, Conservative)

I beg to move amendment No. 214, in

clause 73, page 35, line 12, after first 'or', insert 'lawfully'.

As I see it, clause 73 indicates that if a certain category of person commits an offence abroad, they are, so to speak, guilty in this country and can be charged. Under clause 2, someone who is resident in the UK—even if they are not lawfully resident in the UK—could also be charged. I wonder whether that is a good idea in principle.

I can understand why a British citizen who commits an offence in this country should be charged and prosecuted. I can equally understand why a British citizen, or someone who is lawfully resident here, who commits an offence abroad can be charged in this country. If we are discussing charging someone who is unlawfully resident in this country with an offence committed abroad, issues such as taxpayers' money and wasting time come into play.

If someone who is unlawfully resident in this country has committed an offence abroad, it would be much simpler to use our natural powers to deal with them. If those who are here unlawfully were charged in this country with an offence committed abroad, they would go through the full panoply of legal aid, which would impose a cost on the taxpayer. I wonder whether it would be worth it. Does the Under-Secretary envisage that people who are resident in this country unlawfully would fall within the ambit of the clause?

Mr Paul Goggins (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Home Office; Wythenshawe & Sale East, Labour)

In reading the hon. Gentleman's amendment, I was interested in the concept of an unlawful British citizen. One is either lawfully a British citizen or one is not.

Mr Humfrey Malins (Woking, Conservative)

Subsection (2) states,

''or has since become, a British citizen or resident in the United Kingdom'',

so I did not assume that a resident in the United Kingdom meant a British citizen; I thought that it was a separate category.

Mr Paul Goggins (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Home Office; Wythenshawe & Sale East, Labour)

But certainly. ''Resident in the United Kingdom'' refers to persons who are lawfully resident in the United Kingdom, but who are not British citizens. We are not seeking to prosecute someone who arrives in the UK, for child sex offences committed in a country that they have come from or travelled through. We must draw a line on jurisdiction.

Mr Humfrey Malins (Woking, Conservative)

In that case, I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Clause 73 ordered to stand part of the Bill.