Schedule - Hatred against people on racial or religious grounds
Racial and Religious Hatred Bill
1:00 pm
Paul Goggins (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Home Office; Wythenshawe and Sale East, Labour)
I shall have to reflect carefully on my hon. Friend’s intervention. My understanding is that the power of citizen’s arrest is only for indictable offences, but for all indictable offences. There may be contradictions in some of the comments made by the hon. Member for Beaconsfield and I will consider them further.
I have tried to make it clear to the Committee that we understand the anxiety that some might see the measure as a trigger for inappropriate and frivolous action on behalf of people who may be acting over-zealously. We do not believe that that will happen; we think we can create the right climate, with guidance. There will be consequences for people who overstep the mark by trying to carry out a citizen’s arrest in an inappropriate way.