Report (2nd Day)

Part of Policing and Crime Bill – in the House of Lords at 2:15 pm on 5 November 2009.

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Photo of Lord Desai Lord Desai Labour 2:15, 5 November 2009

My Lords, I want to say a brief word in support of the amendment. It seems perverse that, on the one hand, we say these children are exploited by someone else—that is, they are not in that situation willingly—and, on the other hand, we criminalise them for doing something that they have unwillingly done. That is a contradiction. Therefore, if we believe that these children are exploited, they should be rehabilitated and looked after, and not criminalised.