Clause 2 - Entering United Kingdom without passport
Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Bill
9:45 am
Ms Beverley Hughes (Minister of State (Citizenship and Immigration), Home Office; Stretford and Urmston, Labour)
I hope that I can satisfy the hon. Gentleman with regard to what I think is the spirit of his intentions but, for reasons that I shall outline, I cannot accept the amendment. First, it would mean that, unlike in the rest of criminal law, this offence could be committed only by an adult—a term, in addition, that is not defined. There is a different approach in the rest of the law, under which we do not make that distinction. There is an age of criminal liability, and a judgment is made on the basis of the circumstances of the case as to whether a prosecution should be brought. The amendment would mean an entirely different approach from that which we adopt in relation to children in other parts of the law.