Drugs Bill
3:15 pm
Mrs Cheryl Gillan (Shadow Minister, Home Affairs; Chesham and Amersham, Conservative)
I hope the Minister has now got sufficiently into the groove on this that she is going to accept the principle of this next group of amendments, if not the exact wording. I confess that I am not entirely happy with the wording I have come up with. I prefer that of the hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland, even though to say so will probably get me shot at dawn. Frankly, it is the principle behind this that reflects the actuality of what happens on the street. That is what we are talking about today.
We have got to wake up and recognise that cash is not the only currency of the drug dealer. It was certainly alluded to on Second Reading by my right hon. Friend the Member for Haltemprice and Howden (David Davis), and we need to examine carefully where we are going with this clause.
The Minister has gone to great lengths to identify a whole series of items to be included within the meaning of ''cash'':
''notes and coins in any currency''—
—yes, I can get there—''postal orders''—yes, I can envisage the odd occasion of a postal order being used by a drug dealer, but not too often—and
''cheques of any kind, including travellers cheques''.
We are starting to go into the realms of fantasy. I have not seen many travellers cheques being used by drug dealers on the streets. Then we seem to take off into never-never land. I really would like to know if the Minister knows of any bankers' drafts having been used in cases of dealing. After all, we are talking about dealing in the vicinity of a school. We are not talking about drugs barons. So when I move from ''bankers' drafts'' to
''bearer bonds and bearer shares''
then I start to get really worried, and think that they are dealing outside the gates of Cheltenham ladies' college.Then we have the catch-all provision at sub-paragraph (f):
''any other monetary instrument specified by order made by the Secretary of State''.
Let us face it: out there on the street kids are nicking mobile phones. Indeed, my own godchild has been mugged no fewer than five times and had his mobile phone pinched. They are nicking iPods, DVDs, trainers, clothes and various other things. I am afraid that theft has moved on to a more sophisticated form. The days of stealing the old car radio seem to be over. No one is interested in a car radio; people have far more exciting things to pinch and exchange for drugs. The Minister seems to be a little out of touch.
I hope that the Minister will look at the clause and put in the Bill a provision that can cover all eventualities. I will not die in the ditch about the wording of my amendments. They are a vehicle to enable the issue to be discussed and give her an opportunity to accept the principle With so much drug-related crime going on, it is very short-sighted not to recognise that stolen goods are often the consideration for the contract. I hope that the Minister will see the logic of the amendment and amend the provision. I do not need to say any more until I have heard what she has to say.