Orders of the Day – in the House of Commons at 5:45 pm on 11 June 2008.
'(1) After making an order under section [Power to declare reserve power exercisable] the Secretary of State must lay before Parliament a statement to the following effect.
(2) The statement must state that the Secretary of State is satisfied—
(a) that a grave exceptional terrorist threat has occurred or is occurring,
(b) that the reserve power is needed for the purpose of investigating the threat and bringing to justice those responsible,
(c) that the need for that power is urgent, and
(d) that the provision in the order is compatible with Convention rights (within the meaning of section 1 of the Human Rights Act 1998 (c. 42)).
(3) The statement may include such other information as to the reasons for the decision to make the order as appears to the Secretary of State to be appropriate.
(4) The statement must not include—
(a) the name of any person then detained under section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000 (c. 11), or
(b) any material that might prejudice the prosecution of any person.
(5) The statement must be laid before Parliament within two days after the day on which the order was made or, if that is not practicable, as soon as is practicable.'.
A parliamentary bill is divided into sections called clauses.
Printed in the margin next to each clause is a brief explanatory `side-note' giving details of what the effect of the clause will be.
During the committee stage of a bill, MPs examine these clauses in detail and may introduce new clauses of their own or table amendments to the existing clauses.
When a bill becomes an Act of Parliament, clauses become known as sections.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
