Schedule 1
Political Parties and Elections Bill
10:15 am
Michael Wills (Minister of State, Ministry of Justice; North Swindon, Labour)
I gave way to the hon. Gentleman because I assumed that he would make a similar point to that made by the hon. Member for Huntingdon. If I may, I shall finish responding to the previous point before I come on to the issue raised by the hon. Member for Isle of Wight.
I was hoping to reassure the hon. Member for Huntingdon on the media question. The circumstances are not analogous, for all the reasons that I have given. However, as I said, if there are still genuine concerns, I am happy to consider them. If the hon. Gentleman has a particular view on how the matter should be handled, I would be happy to talk to him and, if necessary, table amendments on Report. We do not think that will be necessary, but I will consider suggestions from him or anyone else.
I understand the concerns raised by the hon. Member for Isle of Wight. Of course the circumstances should be explained to the person.
This has been an important debate. We have had to strike a balance between giving the commission sufficient powers to act as a credible investigator—I believe the Committee agrees that that is important—and putting appropriate safeguards in place. We believe that the Bill now contains those safeguards, but, as I said before, I am happy to address any remaining concerns.