‘(1) As soon as reasonably practicable after the end of every three month period the Secretary of State must—

(a) prepare a report about his exercise of the powers conferred on him, and the exercise of the powers and rights conferred on others, under clauses 6 to 11 of this Act during that period; and

(b) lay a copy of that report before Parliament.

(2) The person appointed by the Secretary of State to review the operation of the provision of the Terrorism Act 2000 and part 1 of the Terrorism Act 2006 must also carry out an annual review of the operation of the provisions of this part of this Act.’.—(Mr Slaughter.)

Brought up, and read the First time.

I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time. Given the helpful comments from the Minister and in light of what the hon. Member for Cambridge has said, I beg to ask leave to withdraw the motion.

Clause, by leave, withdrawn.

On a point of order, Mr Crausby. May I thank you and your co-Chair, Mr Gray, for your expert chairmanship of the Committee? I am sure we can all agree that the Bill has been well scrutinised by the Committee, and that we have had some informative and useful debates. The fact that we have done so in a timely and efficient fashion that has enabled us to finish early is a credit to our two Chairmen, to the usual channels and to all members of the Committee.

We have certainly learned some interesting new facts and been referred to some interesting new concepts. Two immediately spring to mind. I am not sure that all of us would necessarily have been fully familiar with the Osmotherly rules at the outset—or, indeed, had a detailed association with or affection for the Wiley balancing test. I will leave it to the passage of time—or perhaps the Hansard reporters—to tell whether, in due course, our considerations will lead to any Brokenshire requirements, rights and certificates, any Johnson amendments, or, dare I say it, any Slaughter quotations.

Our debates have been informed by the expert knowledge around the Committee Room. When we debated the issue of oversight of the Intelligence and Security Committee, the contributions of my hon. Friend the Member for New Forest East and of the right hon. Member for Torfaen were invaluable. They have greatly assisted the Committee by enabling us to consider a number of points raised by the Bill with the benefit of their outside experience, knowledge and input. I am quite clear that our consideration has been added to and aided as a result of their contributions.

I am also grateful for the legal input from Government and Opposition Committee members and the legal expertise that has been shown. A number of the issues we have considered have been legal points about how courts operate and the jurisprudence that has been developed. We also had input from a member of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, to ensure that that aspect of our consideration was properly informed.

I thank my hon. Friends for all the support they have provided to me and my hon. Friend the Member for Kenilworth and Southam, whom I congratulate on his first speaking part on a Bill as a Minister—before he exits Committee Room right. I thank him for his support. I am sure that his first outing in this particular context will not be his last.

I also thank my hon. Friend the Member for Bexleyheath and Crayford; as a Whip, he has shown steely nerve and fingertip control, which has been absolutely masterful. I am also grateful for the sterling support provided by my hon. Friend the Member for Ilford North, who has acted as PPS, and for the additional support provided by my hon. Friend the Member for Weaver Vale.

I thank the Opposition for the tone and manner in which they have challenged and scrutinised the Bill. Bill Committees do not necessarily always have that tone, but although we have disagreed on a number of points, the analysis and detailed approach of the Opposition Front-Bench team and other Opposition Committee members have aided and assisted our consideration.

I thank the Bill team and parliamentary counsel for their expert input, as well as for being able to read my handwritten scribbles—a task that I know has at times been testing. I thank you, Mr Crausby, and your co-Chair, Mr Gray, for your sterling and clear chairing of our sessions. I also thank the Clerks, the Hansard reporters and the Doorkeepers for their contribution to ensuring the smooth running of our proceedings.

The Bill has been improved by this Committee’s scrutiny. The Government have reflected on proceedings in the other place and will reflect on some of the points made in the Committee’s deliberations between now and Report. Ultimately, this important Bill will improve parliamentary and independent oversight of the security and intelligence agencies, protect our highly important intelligence-sharing relationships and allow more cases involving intelligence to be heard.

The Bill is about more justice, not less, and I look forward to underlining that core point during the remaining stages of our consideration and as the Bill progresses to the Floor of the House.

Further to that point of order, Mr Crausby. I echo everything that the Minister said in paying tribute to those who have contributed to making this a good Committee—beginning with you and your co-Chair, Mr Gray, who have been firm but fair throughout the proceedings. I know that you and Mr Gray would have loved to hear more of what the nine justices said in the Supreme Court case of al-Rawi, but we had to curtail that. I know that having had a taster, all Committee members will rush away to read the full judgment.

Having mildly embarrassed the Clerk earlier, I do not want to do so again, but I thank him for his support in the run-up to the Bill, as well as during our proceedings. It is amazing how much one forgets between Bills about what procedures need to be followed. As always, we have had an absolutely sterling effort from everybody who has helped, including the Doorkeepers and Committee staff. It has been a formidable effort.

I have sometimes found previously—I am sure it has had nothing to do with me—that when I thank Ministers or they thank me, it is the most difficult part of the Committee. However, that is far from being the case on this occasion. I can say genuinely that having two Ministers who are so emollient in how they say things, even if not in what they say, is a refreshing experience. I thank all Government Committee members, including the Liberal Democrats, who are part of the Government,  we must remember—or they must remember, or somebody must remember. We have heard an interesting range of opinions.

When my hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull North was dealing with the Intelligence and Security Committee provisions, I thought at one stage that she was getting it not in stereo but five ways. She was getting a Front-Bench Government view, a Liberal Democrat view, a Back-Bench Government view, a view from the ISC in stereo from both sides and occasionally other views as well. She dealt with them admirably. As the privilege of making the final remarks falls to me, I thank her in particular for everything that she has done on this Committee. I am sure that we can all learn from her concision, accuracy and lack of repetition; I am referring, of course, to Members generally.

I also thank our Whip, my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham East, who with great efficiency and charm has kept us in order and who now just wants me to shut up, because we both want to get down to the Chamber as soon as possible to talk about the closure of our A and E departments. I thank all Members, particularly the hon. Members for New Forest East and my right hon. Friend the Member for Torfaen, for their expertise, not just in terms of their experience of the ISC but generally on security and other matters.

Although this Committee has been relatively short, it has been a case of standing on the shoulders of giants. We have had a large amount of expert opinion to rely on from the Joint Committee and other Committees of the House, from the higher courts of this country and from expert Members in this House and the other place.

The Bill is not over yet; that is not a threat. We will see what happens in the remaining stages here and in the other place, but I think that we can go away comforted by the fact that we have explored the issues in full and have, in a reasoned way, contributed, I hope, to making the Bill better when it finally reaches the statute book.  My hon. Friends have asked me also to mention the Clerk of the Commons for his assistance—the letter that we had in the first part of our discussions.

I think I have dealt with all matters. If I have forgotten anybody, I apologise. We have had a good Committee.

Further to that point of order, Mr Crausby. I add my thanks and those of my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh West to you, Mr Gray and all the staff involved: the Bill team, Hansard, the Doorkeepers and so forth. It has been an entertaining exercise. I will leave it to others to decide whether this Bill Committee has been a fair and effective administration of legislation and whether we balanced our Wiley correctly. It has been an enjoyable experience.

I thank the two Ministers for all their comments, particularly the hon. Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup for actually giving way on one point, which was satisfying after much frustration. I also thank the Whip, the hon. Member for Bexleyheath and Crayford, for how he has conducted things; it has been a pleasure working at least on the same side of the room as him on a number of occasions. I thank Opposition Committee members for backing us on some, if not all, of our proposals.

It has been a great pleasure to learn so much about procedures in the event of a tie. I am glad that we have all had that opportunity. It has also been a great pleasure to have the chance to educate the hon. Member for Hammersmith on the nature of a coalition. Two parties can work together despite not agreeing on absolutely every issue. The Opposition will know that the coalition between Blair and Brown had some tension as well. I thank you again, Mr Crausby, for your chairmanship. We will see how the Bill proceeds.

Bill, as amended, to be reported.

Committee rose.