Clause 27

Part of Counter-Terrorism Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 2:15 pm on 8 May 2008.

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Photo of Tony McNulty Tony McNulty Minister of State (Security, Counter-terrorism, Crime and Policing), Home Office 2:15, 8 May 2008

I am grateful to the hon. and learned Member for Beaconsfield for recognising that the Lord Advocate’s evidence was extremely useful for understanding these clauses. She gave a formidable and informative performance, which was one of the few saving graces of using the evidence sessions as a prelude to our deliberations, as I thought that she was very good. She said not only that the principal source of the amendment lies in concerns and anxieties north of the border, but that it was absolutely clear

“that the real priority here is the public interest, and terrorism in that context demands that we act closely together to ensure both the public interest and fairness for the accused.”——[Official Report, Counter-Terrorism Public Bill Committee, 22 April 2008; c. 91, Q249.]

Clause 27 gives UK-wide jurisdiction for specific terrorism offences so that they can be tried in any part of the UK, as the Lord Advocate clearly stated, irrespective of which jurisdiction they were committed in. Hon. Members will know that London-Glasgow last summer was the source of some of the concerns raised about the clause. The clause applies to offences listed in subsections (2) and (3), which are offences under the terrorism legislation and the ancillary offences associated with those, such as conspiracy and incitement. The clause covers more minor terrorist offences, so that in some cases a person can be tried together with a linked defendant in another jurisdiction who might be charged with a more serious offence. When considering the core element of dual jurisdiction and where to try in the first place, those minor offences might bring in other defendants from another jurisdiction to the major offence and the major defendant in the principal jurisdiction. That is why some of the more ancillary and lesser charges are included.

It will be possible to prosecute terrorism cases in any part of the United Kingdom, irrespective of where they were committed. Rightly, however, under the principles  of common law, a substantial measure of the criminal activity must have taken place in the UK for a court to take jurisdiction over an offence. The common law rule has been established for sensible reasons, and in the vast majority of cases it results in the court that is best placed to deal with the offence having jurisdiction. However, when cross-border situations arise, the rule might result in linked offences that happen in two different parts of the UK having to be tried in separate trials in different parts of the UK with an ultimately detrimental effect on bringing individuals to justice. That would be inefficient in that it would involve duplication of witnesses and evidence, a waste of resources and almost certainly less effectiveness than if the cases could be joined and tried together in the one jurisdiction.

The provision in the clause will be extremely helpful when, for example, in a single investigation there are linked defendants, one in Wales and one in Scotland, both of whom are found to be in possession of terrorist articles, which is an offence under section 57 of the 2000 Act. Each defendant could be tried only under separate jurisdictions as the common law rule would prevent a joint trial, no acts of the Welsh defendant having taken place in Scotland or vice versa. The provision in clause 27 will allow such cases to be tried by the same court.