Clause 20 - Further uses connected with the
Identity Cards Bill
9:45 am
Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Assistant Chief Whip, Whips; Cotswold, Conservative)
I had not intended to speak to clause stand part, but the interaction between my hon. Friend the Member for Woking (Mr. Malins) and the hon. Member for Sheffield, Hallam—and the interaction between clauses 20 and 23—could give rise to serious problems about civil liberties. We must be proportionate, and clearly the state has to take powers to deal with serious crime, but, as has been pointed out several times this morning, the use of information can take place without an individual's consent. When we consider clause 20 and the requirements that must be satisfied under clause 23, it seems that senior officers of the new Serious Organised Crime Agency have to say to the Secretary of State only that they have serious concerns about a person and the Secretary of State will make an order.