Schedule 1 - The Intelligence and Security Committee

Part of Justice and Security Bill [Lords] – in a Public Bill Committee at 3:15 pm on 29 January 2013.

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Photo of Julian Lewis Julian Lewis Conservative, New Forest East 3:15, 29 January 2013

I shall abbreviate the remarks that the ISC wish to lay before the Committee, because many of them have been covered fully by the Minister.

On administering oaths, we understand that other provisions in the Bill might mean that it would have been unclear whether the new ISC would have such an ability. The amendment provides the necessary clarification and we are happy to support it.

We are reluctant to go down the route of having to hold a public hearing every calendar year. Mention has already been made of the pertinent remarks of ISC member Lord Lothian about the pitfalls of holding public hearings with the heads of the agencies. That is the plan, as Committee members know. The idea has to be road tested. We do not know whether this will provide enthralling television or whether it will be worse  than watching paint dry. On the one hand, we do not want questions to be asked that cannot be answered on camera. On the other hand, we do not want to avoid that risk by having something that has clearly been scripted in advance and lacks spontaneity.

We have a warm, close relationship with our counterparts in the United States, so I shall be careful what I say about the reaction of members of our Committee to seeing extracts from the televised hearings that they hold. I shall say that we were not entirely riveted by the proceedings. Unless we can do a bit better ourselves, we are not sure how much value there would be in them, but we are determined to try.