Clause 18
Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill
4:30 pm
David Heath (Shadow Secretary of State for Justice & Lord Chancellor, Ministry of Justice; Somerton and Frome, Liberal Democrat)
I rise briefly to agree entirely with the arguments made by the hon. and learned Gentleman. The Minister said earlier that he wanted the Parole Board to concentrate on the most serious cases. Well, this is the most serious case in terms of a restriction in liberty. This is the revocation of a licence given to a person under an indeterminate sentence. It should have at least a degree of judicial oversight. I believe that a judge should take the decision, but I am prepared to accept a decision taken by the Lord Chancellor in conjunction with a judge. I find it difficult to accept purely a decision of the Executive effectively to deprive a person of his liberty, sine die, on grounds given by an elected Minister, rather than through a judicial process. I thus support the view expressed by the hon. and learned Gentleman.