I am surprised that the hon. Member for Bath is not getting more exercised by this clause, given he is from a liberal background. I am now more alarmed than I would have been had the Minister not clarified the point. It would have been helpful for the Committee—and the British Transport police—to hear precisely what the exceptional circumstances might be. I am disappointed that the Minister failed to grasp my point that potentially it could pose problems for the chief constable and the staff associations to be overruled in that way.

The fact that the clause is included in the Bill tells the chief constable and the staff associations where they stand. It is a regrettable clause, and we shall monitor closely how it might be applied as the Bill progresses.

Question put and agreed to.

Clause 39 ordered to stand part of the Bill.