Clause 55

Part of Policing and Crime Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 4:30 pm on 24 February 2009.

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Photo of Evan Harris Evan Harris Shadow Science Minister 4:30, 24 February 2009

I probably did not do justice to amendment 74, so I will be clear about what it seeks to do in addition to the statement of the obvious that the Minister has identified. It seeks to ensure that the powers set out in the Bill that are consequential on the undertaking—for example, the power to keep a person in custody until return—fall away if the undertaking cannot be complied with. In other words, they are null and void. It does not necessarily follow from this framework that those powers are null and void even if they are not exercised. I think the amendment is a tidier way than the current wording of making that clear. It is not because I failed to grasp the obvious.