Lord Mayhew of Twysden: Will the Minister reflect on the justification he gave for retaining the right of a police officer to carry out post-charge questioning in the first 24 hours? He said that it was not in the interests of the prosecution or the police to allow that to happen in oppressive circumstances because the court, ultimately, would have an opportunity to identify that and to disallow the evidence that it...
Lord Mayhew of Twysden: On the basis of some experience in Northern Ireland, I support the suggestion made by the noble and learned Lord, Lord Lloyd, about a counterpart to the commissioner appointed to review procedures in the holding centres in Northern Ireland. That post was established in my time and was held by Mr Louis Blom-Cooper QC, who at a very early stage established the full confidence of all concerned....
Lord Mayhew of Twysden: I support the amendment, at least in a probing capacity. It bears upon concern that we have already ventilated today that legislation should not be oppressive in its application. Fishing expeditions into other people's documents have always been regarded by the law as potentially oppressive. To be legitimate, there must at least be reasonable grounds for believing that they are necessary in...
Lord Mayhew of Twysden: In answer to the Minister's question, I, too, am satisfied with the purpose of the subsection. It is a great tribute to what he can achieve at half-past four in the morning.
Lord Mayhew of Twysden: I have a great deal of sympathy with my noble friend's opening remarks. It takes quite a bit of time to unravel quite what this provision seeks to achieve. Are we not in danger of creating some potentially rather oppressive legislation? Clause 1(2) states that a constable can take a document away, "for the purpose of ascertaining", whether he can take it away. When he finds that he could have...
Lord Mayhew of Twysden: My Lords, the thrust of my noble friend's question went not to the recruiting of the Afghan army but to its retention, making the point that the Taliban are luring large numbers of Afghan soldiers away. What are we doing to counter that?
Lord Mayhew of Twysden: My Lords, much has been said about Kabul and incursions by the Taliban. Has there not been a worrying deterioration over the past year? Surely no wider military or other strategy can succeed unless confidence in Kabul's own security is achieved beyond question.
Lord Mayhew of Twysden: The arguments that have just been adduced seem overwhelming. I do not wish to delay for more than a minute the reply from the noble Lord or from the noble and learned Baroness, when we will see whether they are overwhelmed. I hope that one question will be answered when they reply. We have been reminded that the New Zealand model does not provide for similar provisions to apply to the...
Lord Mayhew of Twysden: I support my noble and learned friend. I have one point of principle and one of practicality. The point of principle is that we should look very closely at any proposal in emergency legislation to abolish any common law rule whatsoever, especially one that has persisted, as my noble and learned friend has reminded us, over many centuries and to great effect. The amendment proposes to leave...
Lord Mayhew of Twysden: My Lords, this debate has been dominated so strongly by the 42 day issue that it is tempting to choose for one's own seven minutes one of the Bill's less notorious, but still alarming, provisions. I would have chosen the Government's amiable attempt in Part 6 to rid themselves of the tiresomeness of having juries and local coroners at certain inquests, and to put in a coroner of their own...
Lord Mayhew of Twysden: My Lords, while it may or may not be expedient now to legislate, even retrospectively, as promised in this Statement, why did the Secretary of State for Justice describe as a, "technical defect in the law" the complete absence of any authority for depriving an unknown number of defendants of a core element of their right to a fair trial? If we describe such a deficiency as a mere...
Lord Mayhew of Twysden: My Lords, is it not crucial to the consolidation of our military successes, which we all so greatly admire, that our parallel civilian effort should be planned and delivered by a clear chain of command with a single, identified decision taker at its head? Do the Government accept that? For how long, if at all, has it been in place?
Lord Mayhew of Twysden: My Lords, is the Minister telling the House that the Government dismissed this explanation for what he describes—namely, that courts, given this additional power, consider that to use it would better meet the justice of each individual case?
Lord Mayhew of Twysden: My Lords, we were reminded earlier today that this clause takes its origins from a political posture. As has been shown in devastating terms this afternoon, it is a mess. To carry it forward into legislation would be to take a posture to an extent that would be both disproportionate and unreasonable and we should not do it.
Lord Mayhew of Twysden: My Lords, I add a modicum of support for what the noble Lord, Lord Neill of Bladen, said, in urging that if there is to be a change it should be left to the Law Commission. Fortunately for all concerned, I never had to direct a jury, although I have addressed numerous juries in my time. I cannot think of an occasion when a jury by its verdict demonstrated an absence of common sense, which is...
Lord Mayhew of Twysden: My Lords, when the noble and learned Baroness the Attorney-General responds, which I feel sure she will be doing in a few minutes, might she deal with the attitude of the Magistrates' Association? In this clause, we are dealing with procedures in the magistrates' courts. The magistrates deal with 95 per cent or more of all criminal cases tried each year, which is something like 2 million. Is...
Lord Mayhew of Twysden: My Lords, it is quite unnecessary for me to add anything to what the noble and learned Lord, Lord Lloyd of Berwick, has said, but I cannot resist it. We learn from the world of education that examinations have become increasingly a matter of ticking boxes, or not allowing answers to be given in free style. This clause is a product of that kind of culture. It requires the judges to tick boxes...
Lord Mayhew of Twysden: My Lords, it is relevant to point out what the Magistrates' Association has said about this proposal in Clause 10. It has said: "We believe that research into SSOs"— suspended sentence orders—"made since April 2005", when they were conferred to this extent on magistrates, "has not been sufficiently robust yet to show that it is SSOs that have, or will have, a significant impact on the...
Lord Mayhew of Twysden: My Lords, we have just listened to a very profound contribution, and I cannot sensibly add to it. Alone among those who have contributed to the debate, I shall look in a little more detail at the new clause inserted by Amendment No. 47, which has been tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Thomas of Gresford. As I understand it at the moment, I do not share the general view that it would be better...
Lord Mayhew of Twysden: My Lords, will the Minister say when he replies to what extent the formula in the amendment would inexpediently fetter the discretion of a sentencing court?