Clause 41
Serious Crime Bill [Lords]
6:00 pm
James Brokenshire (Shadow Minister (Police Reform), Home Affairs; Hornchurch, Conservative)
I beg to move amendment No. 173, in clause 41, page 25, line 26, leave out ‘foreseeable’ and insert ‘reasonable’.
We now move to part 2, which deals with inchoate offences. The amendment is probing in nature. I recognise that the language is not as effective as we would choose to make it. The amendment focuses on the use of the word “forseeability”. When we use that word, are we talking about a subjective or objective test? In other words, is it foreseeable by the individual that that was the consequence or was it something that should have been foreseen by them and that a reasonable person would have foreseen in the circumstances?
In moving the amendment, I stress that it is probing in nature and is designed to gain greater understanding of the context of this clause and, in particular, the use of the word foreseeable.