Part of Proceeds of Crime Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 2:45 pm on 29 November 2001.
Dominic Grieve
Shadow Minister (Home Affairs)
2:45,
29 November 2001
The end of this discussion has been particularly helpful, and I am grateful to the Minister for those last comments. We have reached the point where at least counsel acting for a defendant in such circumstances might be well advised, if there is a subsequent problem, to refer to the Hansard record of the Committee, to which reference can now be made during the course of court proceedings—that has been the case for some time—and read what the Minister has said. As I said to him, this goes beyond the Mona Lisa, castles and antique chattels that are not readily replaceable with equivalents.
There is also the question of the maintenance of a defendant's basic financial structure under a restraint order. I am reassured by the Minister's comments, although with subsection (2), one could spell out the principles. As the Minister has helpfully spelled out principles that are in accordance with the Amendment that I drafted, and as those principles could now be referred to, I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment.
Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
Clause 69 ordered to stand part of the Bill.
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