Counter-Terrorism Bill
10:30 am
Dominic Grieve (Shadow Attorney General, Law Officers; Beaconsfield, Conservative)
I welcome you to the Chair, Mr. Bercow. I want to add only a couple of points about procedure because a serious issue is raised here. Clearly there may be differences of opinion as to whether Dame Stella Rimington is a sensible person for this Committee to listen to. But the point has been well made that, for obvious reasons, we do not have access to the heads of the security services. Therefore, individuals who have served in the Security Service and the Secret Intelligence Service in the past are likely to be extremely helpful to the Committee and to be able to give evidence in a way that those who are currently serving are not.
The second point, which I raised last night and which troubles me far more, is that it appears that the Committee and, indeed, the Commons generally are toothless in this process. We rely on the usual channels to communicate a wish, and it is then actioned by the Government to see whether the person concerned can be brought before the Committee. It appeared that the request had simply not been processed because the Minister had taken the view that Dame Stella Rimington was not worth listening to. Therefore, we were not even in a position to know whether she was available. I find that situation deplorable. It highlights areas where the House of Commons is deficient in its processes. I hope that that will be communicated back. I may have misunderstood the position, but I was left with the distinct impression that a veto had been applied at an earlier stage by the Minister, on the basis that it was his prerogative to do so, so that we did not even know whether she could come or not.
I do believe that it may be helpful for us to hear from Dame Stella. She may have less to say that would be helpful to us than we would hope, but her name was put forward in good faith as someone whom we think could probably help the Committee. I commend the motion and amendment to the Committee.