Clause 18 - Offence: bodies corporate, I beg to move amendment No. 15, in clause 18, page 9, line 3, leave out from 'has' to 'fact' in line 4 and insert
Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Bill
4:30 pm
Tony McNulty (Minister of State (Immigration, Citizenship and Nationality), Home Office; Harrow East, Labour)
I do not accept either amendment, because they would water down the measure. A corporation should not be able to avoid criminal liability for its actions through delegation. We are not putting this Bill on to the statute book simply to play some sort of game with assorted corporations of chasing around to see who can pin the proverbial tail on the donkey in terms of who has the most relevant responsibility. The way the clause is drafted, in four substantive parts, covers sufficiently those who can and should be liable for a breach of this new aspect of the law. Either amendment would water the measure down, and we ask that they should not be pressed.