Clause 1
Crown Employment (Nationality) Bill
10:00 am
Norman Baker (Cabinet Office; Lewes, Liberal Democrat)
I have not taken any view yet. I shall come on to say which view I take. Sadly, as we know from terrorist problems that have occurred in this country, many of those problems are related to UK nationals who were born here. We need to examine the reasons for that as a society. Even the batten-down-the-hatches, world war two approach, which some advocate, would not prevent those nationals from securing jobs in sensitive areas because of their nationality, although security checks and vetting processes are quite properly carried out. For those who are rightly concerned about security, as I am, the issue is to ensure that the vetting process and the security clearance are appropriate for each individual. That relates not to nationality, but to whether the individual is trustworthy in a particular position. I would like the Government to do more on that, rather than worry about whether someone comes from a Commonwealth country.