Results 21–40 of 66 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:Lord Plant of Highfield

Racial and Religious Hatred Bill (24 Jan 2006)

Lord Plant of Highfield: My Lords, I am not entirely clear when and if it will be appropriate to speak about the Bill more generally, picking up the point made by the right reverend Prelate and the noble Lord, Lord Lester. I very much agree with the points that they made. At Second Reading, I made it clear that I did not believe that the measure was compatible with the values of a free and tolerant society and I put...

Terrorism Bill (17 Jan 2006)

Lord Plant of Highfield: My Lords, as someone who participated in this discussion on Second Reading, and was extremely unhappy with the idea of objective recklessness—against which I hope I mounted a coherent case—I am pleased to welcome the Government's change of mind in favour of subjective recklessness. With the words in the amendment and, in a Pepper v Hart context, the clear statements that the Minister has...

Terrorism Bill (21 Nov 2005)

Lord Plant of Highfield: My Lords, I am pleased that the Government have produced a legislative framework for dealing with the terrorist threat in this Bill. There is a very large part of the Bill with which I am entirely happy and in sympathy. I want to concentrate on one element of the Bill, which has just been mentioned: the issue of intention and recklessness. I want to use that as a way of teasing out some...

Racial and Religious Hatred Bill ( 8 Nov 2005)

Lord Plant of Highfield: My Lords, as one of the authors of the amendment, I should like to say a brief word in its favour. As the noble Lords, Lord Avebury and Lord Lester, have pointed out, the social basis of the blasphemy laws has been entirely eroded. They developed as a common law offence to protect religious belief when it was thought that religious belief, particularly Christian belief, was part of the...

Racial and Religious Hatred Bill (25 Oct 2005)

Lord Plant of Highfield: Can I come back to that in a moment because I want to make three more general points? The first is that the amendments would enable the Government to meet their aims more effectively. The second is to clarify the nature of the offences that the Bill will give rise to and I realise that my noble friend's question relates to that. However, I will make the third general point first. The Joint...

Racial and Religious Hatred Bill (25 Oct 2005)

Lord Plant of Highfield: Because the point that I was making as my noble friend stood up arises. In the case of religious hatred there is a great deal more ambiguity about what is being said, what is being understood by what is being said and what is being read into what is being said. There is therefore an incentive for the person who claims to be disadvantaged or threatened by what has been said to over-exaggerate....

Racial and Religious Hatred Bill (25 Oct 2005)

Lord Plant of Highfield: I have one final point to make regarding the protection of freedom of expression. Noble friends around me are assuring the Committee that there is no problem here. If there is none, I cannot see why it should not be in the Bill—and if there is no problem, why do so many people think that there is? That is due to confusion about the nature of the Bill, which would be sorted out by the...

Racial and Religious Hatred Bill (25 Oct 2005)

Lord Plant of Highfield: As one of the signatories to the amendments I would like to say a few words. I agree with what the noble and learned Lord, Lord Lyell, said and I do not have much to add to the positive case for the amendments. He put it much better than I could have done. I am sure that the Government are entitled to a Bill on incitement to religious hatred. It was a manifesto commitment. But as we see...

Racial and Religious Hatred Bill (11 Oct 2005)

Lord Plant of Highfield: My Lords, after the excitement of the previous two speakers it is time that my stupor-inducing talents were engaged. Like my noble friend Lord Haskel in his outstanding speech, I had considerable reservations about the Bill, but I differ from him where he said that he thought in the end he might not be able to support it. We have to remember that it was a manifesto commitment of the Labour...

Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill Bill: Select Committee Report (10 Oct 2005)

Lord Plant of Highfield: My Lords, I support the noble Lord, Lord Joffe, in his endeavours on the Bill and I shall certainly support it in its amended form. I speak as a Christian, indeed, as an Anglican, but what I am going to say will put me very much at odds with my friends on the ecclesiastical Benches, whose views I respect but, unfortunately, disagree with. I shall start with the view of the value of life. I am...

Serious Organised Crime and Police Bill (14 Mar 2005)

Lord Plant of Highfield: My Lords, there are many things to welcome in the Bill. I broadly support Parts 1, 2 and 3 and certainly the animal aspects of Part 4. However, a couple of issues give me concern. First, I refer to the restrictions on the right to demonstrate and protest in the environs of Parliament. I shall need some convincing on that. In an age when we all decry disengagement from politics, this is the...

Prevention of Terrorism Bill ( 8 Mar 2005)

Lord Plant of Highfield: My Lords, I am very sympathetic to the position taken by my noble friend Lady Hayman. I have two reservations about the sunset clause. Given my voting record over the past couple of days, my noble friends on the Front Bench may be surprised that I have these reservations; but I do not think that my reasons will be greatly welcome. The first reason follows up the point made by my noble friend...

Prevention of Terrorism Bill ( 8 Mar 2005)

Lord Plant of Highfield: My Lords, I made a speech at Second Reading in favour of that view. I still hold to that view, having listened to all the speeches since. I would certainly support the noble Lord, Lord Kingsland, in the view that he is taking. As I said yesterday, while I am in favour of control orders, they should be made as compliant as possible with both human rights legislation and, more broadly, common...

Prevention of Terrorism Bill ( 7 Mar 2005)

Lord Plant of Highfield: Like many other noble Lords I had a chance to speak on Thursday, so I shall be brief. However, since I am going to support the opposition amendment before us, I want to say a few words about my position. I am not opposed to control orders, but they have to be made as compliant as possible with our human rights legislation and with common law ideas of natural justice. These amendments go some...

Prevention of Terrorism Bill ( 3 Mar 2005)

Lord Plant of Highfield: I have one point which may be out of order, as I am a little mixed-up, procedurally. The noble Lords, Lord Carlisle and Lord Judd, and I referred to the burden of proof. It may be best to deal with that at some other stage, but it was an issue that was ventilated.

Prevention of Terrorism Bill ( 3 Mar 2005)

Lord Plant of Highfield: On the burden of proof point, although we shall return to it later, when my right honourable friend the Home Secretary gave evidence to the Joint Committee on Human Rights—it was an open session with the public present, so I do not believe that I am breaching any convention of the House by mentioning this—he was asked about the burden of proof for non-derogating orders and whether it...

Prevention of Terrorism Bill ( 3 Mar 2005)

Lord Plant of Highfield: I rise to say that I strongly agree with the points made about the role of the DPP in the amendments of the Liberal Democrats and the noble Lord, Lord Kingsland. At Second Reading I said that I thought the role of the Director of Public Prosecutions was going to be fairly central to this and that it should not be either the Government or the security services who determine whether an...

Prevention of Terrorism Bill ( 3 Mar 2005)

Lord Plant of Highfield: I support the amendments, especially the one in the name of the noble Lords, Lord Goodhart and Lord Thomas of Gresford. The list of obligations set out in the Bill is long, onerous, open-ended and somewhat indefinite. A good case was made by the noble Lord, Lord Thomas of Gresford, to freeze the set of obligations at this and not to have others that could be brought in using the enabling part...

Prevention of Terrorism Bill ( 3 Mar 2005)

Lord Plant of Highfield: I am sorry to disagree with my noble and learned friend on that issue. Assuming for the moment that the Government's proposal goes forward, I wonder whether he would clear up a couple of points, one of which was slightly in dispute at Second Reading. It is a straightforward thing, and it would be good to hear his view. When it comes to the judicial review of a non-derogating order, the noble...

Prevention of Terrorism Bill ( 3 Mar 2005)

Lord Plant of Highfield: I was talking about non-derogating orders and the way those orders would infringe articles other than Article 5. That can be justified under the convention if it is through a procedure prescribed by law. I wonder whether the non-exhaustive nature of the obligations set out in the Bill would satisfy the principle that it is prescribed by law. It does not cover every obligation that might be...


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