Clause 18 - Meaning of ''emergency''
Civil Contingencies Bill
10:15 am
Mr Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley, Conservative)
I suspect that hon. Members are worried about where they will be in such circumstances. Plans would have to be made. However, in the United States, ricin has been found in the post of one of the Senators. The chief of police has already confirmed that the substance is ricin. I remember when the Chamber was closed and none of us could gain access to it. It was cordoned off because suspect powder was found in the mailroom near the Chamber. Mr. Speaker had to
process through the back Corridors as opposed to walking through Members' Lobby and Central Lobby. Obviously plans are in place for certain eventualities.
However, what worries us all about this is when the trigger will be pulled; when the Secretaries of State will decide that we face an emergency for which they do not have sufficient power, which they will have to prove under the triple lock, in any event. The hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy (Mr. Llwyd) said that it is a very subjective interpretation. Of course it is. It cannot be objective, just as, during the foot and mouth crisis—as the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy said—one farming union advised one course of action while another union said that it was against inoculation or injections, and that something else should be done. Those two experts in the farming industry came up with different ideas on how to perform. I assume that the Secretary of State's decision as to what constituted an emergency would, under guidance or advice from somebody, be very subjective.