New Clause 3 - Arrest pending deportation
Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Bill
1:00 pm
Tony McNulty (Minister of State (Immigration, Citizenship and Nationality), Home Office; Harrow East, Labour)
As I understand it, the new clause relates to arrest and detention pending deportation and is not specific to terrorism; it is simply broadening things out. Given that it refers only to arrest and detention pending deportation and not to arrest for criminal offences, PACE does not apply. That has always been the case.
This is not germane to the Bill, but we are looking to include independent complaints monitoring of immigration enforcement powers by the Independent Police Complaints Commission in the safer communities Bill or some other legislative vehicle, although it is not for me to say where. I think that we looked at it in the context of this Bill, but that it was beyond the Bill’s scope, although if that is wrong, I shall certainly correct what I have said. None the less, I take the point about there being some overarching independent monitoring body.