Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill

Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 11:15 pm on 9 October 2002.

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Photo of Lord Judd Lord Judd Labour 11:15, 9 October 2002

My Lords, I hesitate to follow my noble friend Lord Clinton-Davis, with his 50 years of legal experience as a solicitor, because I cannot claim to be a lawyer in any respect. I therefore look at the issue from the point of view of those who use lawyers as distinct from the view of the legal profession.

I am a little puzzled by the Bill. The amendment should at least be considered carefully. The Bill recognises the possibility that legal advice may be appropriate in such a centre. However, as I understand it from the standpoint of the layman, the Secretary of State is potentially a party to the legal process, yet it is the Secretary of State who will decide whether legal advice will be available. If the possibility that legal advice would be appropriate is recognised, it would be much better to say that it is provided and then it takes its course rather than saying that it is up to the Secretary of State, when someone may want to appeal against the Secretary of State.