Results 1-20 of 6,451 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:Baroness Scotland of Asthal

Policing and Crime Bill: Report (2nd Day) (5 Nov 2009)

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: My Lords, I commend the noble Baroness on the view she has taken on not pursuing the amendments in relation to the forum because she is quite right that these issues have been settled. Indeed, we remember only too well the forceful intervention made by the noble and learned Lord, Lord Lloyd of Berwick, who, having had the advantage of looking at the explanation given by the Government, was...

Policing and Crime Bill: Report (2nd Day) (5 Nov 2009)

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: My Lords, I was simply inviting the noble Lord to early consideration of his position, particularly because I know that he has now had the advantage of mature reflection, having read the letters and considered the debate. I am confident that the noble Lord would not wish to take a position precipitously which would appear to fly in the face of the information and evidence now before us.

Policing and Crime Bill: Report (2nd Day) (5 Nov 2009)

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: I hear what the noble Lord says but I ask him to have a care. He knows that that is a recitation; it is not a caveat in any way. The Americans ratified. The noble Lord is quite right that I went to America and had the advantage of speaking to a number of those who had concerns, and the Americans ratified. I ask the noble Lord to take care in the way in which he expresses himself.

Policing and Crime Bill: Report (2nd Day) (5 Nov 2009)

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: My Lords, I thank my noble and learned friend Lord Goldsmith for his comments on the amendment. I assure him that he is absolutely right and nothing has changed. I say to the noble Lord, Lord Thomas of Gresford, that when I was Minister of State at the Home Office and responded on these issues, I did so before the treaty was ratified and before we had an opportunity to look at the practice as...

Policing and Crime Bill — Report (1st Day) (Continued) (3 Nov 2009)

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: My Lords, as you will see, I rise to reply to the amendments on behalf of the Government. I say to all noble Lords who have contributed that the debate has done the House justice on this very important amendment. Noble Lords will not be surprised that I agree, without reservation, with all of those who support the Government's case—the noble Lords, Lord McColl and Lord Morrow, the most...

Policing and Crime Bill — Report (1st Day) (Continued) (3 Nov 2009)

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The noble Lord uses the issue of whether someone is sure. The noble Lord knows as well as I do that those who find themselves acting as prostitutes are often some of the most vulnerable and delicate people there are. If, after making an inquiry, from the observation that they have of the individual and the circumstances in which that individual is found, a person can be sure that that...

Policing and Crime Bill: Committee (5th Day) (20 Oct 2009)

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: My Lords, in order to understand the context of the noble Lord's amendment, we should look at how this matter is dealt with in practice. The first point to make about Clause 76 is that there is currently only one court in England and Wales that hears European arrest warrant and extradition cases. If a person is arrested in Durham, for example, that person is currently required to travel to...

Policing and Crime Bill: Committee (5th Day) (20 Oct 2009)

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: My Lords, I apologise to my noble friend for rising too quickly. I say both to my noble friend and to the noble Lord, Lord Thomas of Gresford, that the amendment is unnecessary, but I join with them very strongly in their condemnation of torture and unlawful rendition. As the noble Lord, Lord Thomas of Gresford, has made clear, this issue has been debated extensively in your Lordships' House...

Policing and Crime Bill: Committee (5th Day) (20 Oct 2009)

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: I understand the way in which the noble Lord, Lord Thomas of Gresford, and the noble Baroness, Lady Neville-Jones, put their points but there are a number of practical issues which we need to bear in mind. The first, as the noble Lord will know, is that the designated judge for extradition cases is a district judge and not a High Court judge. The reason, as the noble Lord will be aware, is...

Policing and Crime Bill: Committee (5th Day) (20 Oct 2009)

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: My Lords, on the noble Lord's first question, the issue is whether the court has capacity to make those considerations, which it does. I have made it plain that the current structure enables the judge to look at that issue right at the beginning, that the ECHR is there to cover the middle and the end, and that the process which has worked well is that final consideration of extradition should...

Policing and Crime Bill: Committee (5th Day) (20 Oct 2009)

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: My Lords, while I understand the aspiration behind the amendment of the noble Earl, Lord Onslow, and what he is trying to achieve, I will resist it on the basis that the provisions of Clause 72 already provide sufficient safeguards to ensure that the return of an individual pursuant to an undertaking is compatible with the person's fundamental rights. I heard the noble Earl say that there may...

Policing and Crime Bill: Committee (5th Day) (20 Oct 2009)

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: My Lords, I hear what the noble Baroness says on Amendment 152AKAC, but that was listed together with Amendments 152AKAA and 152AKAB, and all of those issues require the judge to consider both the evidential standards and the EAW list of offences when considering forum. I am not sure what the noble Baroness feels that those amendments will do in relation to Amendment 152AKAC, because—if...

Policing and Crime Bill: Committee (5th Day) (20 Oct 2009)

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: My Lords, I think I understand the basis on which the noble Lord makes his contention in relation to submissions, but I am afraid that I do not agree with him. In cases where a person who is the subject of an extradition request is serving a sentence in the United Kingdom, the Extradition Act allows a decision to be made about whether extradition should be deferred until the end of that...

Parliamentary Standards Bill: Report (20 Jul 2009)

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who have agreed with the analysis and for the kind remarks that have been made about it. I can reassure the noble Lord, Lord Elystan-Morgan, about the difference between these two offences. We have to take into account that if, pursuant to Section 112 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992, an ordinary member of the public made a false declaration...

Parliamentary Standards Bill: Report (20 Jul 2009)

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: My Lords, the Government have taken on board the concerns that were raised 10 years ago, but your Lordships will remember that the recommendations were not all universally welcomed. Some of them have proved not to be entirely correct, so perhaps this is not the moment to bandy about beliefs about who was right and who was wrong. I simply ask noble Lords to accept that we have all learnt a lot...

Parliamentary Standards Bill: Report (20 Jul 2009)

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: My Lords, we should have only that on the statute book which is necessary. I say that most particularly because I received a very strong stricture from the Lord Chief Justice, who bewailed the fact that we put anything unnecessary on the statute book and enjoined us to resist the temptation fearfully. Having had that stricture once, I will need only to contemplate it to refrain from the...

Parliamentary Standards Bill: Report (20 Jul 2009)

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: My Lords, the noble Lord is probably right, but in order to explain why that is so we would be here for probably another three or four hours, so I shall resist that blandishment too and say that the Bill as currently structured is at last perfectly formed. In so far as issues arise under the European Convention on Human Rights, as the Joint Committee on Human Rights argues, if the current...

Parliamentary Standards Bill: Report (20 Jul 2009)

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: My Lords, with the leave of the House, it has been suggested that I should rise at this stage to respond to the comments of the noble Lord, Lord Jenkin. I shall then give the House an opportunity to debate the issues more fully and, if necessary, your Lordships can be wearied by me again in response. I am very grateful to have this opportunity to respond to the request made in Committee that...

Parliamentary Standards Bill: Report (20 Jul 2009)

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: My Lords, of course, we might have to look at that in the future. We need to be very clear that IPSA will set the rules on paid advocacy under Clause 5 but that the commissioner's functions under Clause 6 are limited to the allowances scheme and breaches of registration of interests. Investigations of alleged breaches of the paid advocacy rules will continue to be a matter for the current...

Coroners and Justice Bill: Committee (5th Day) (7 Jul 2009)

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: I thank the noble Lord, Lord Low, for speaking to the amendment so comprehensively on behalf of the noble Baroness, Lady Murphy. I will take his last point first. He said that we should be able to do better. The truth is that, after extensive examination, it is not possible. I am grateful to the noble Lord for outlining the history of these offences, which go back as far as 1938. It is true...