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Terrorism Bill

I reject the hon. Gentleman’s charge completely. Perhaps I should have done so earlier, in response to my hon. Friend the Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. Mullin). It is completely and utterly false to suggest that the police come up with a proposition to which we all say, ““That’s all right then.”” When we ask the police for their assessment of a situation, they give it. We take that assessment seriously, because the police have high levels of professional expertise and competence in dealing with matters of forensics, encryption, international relations and so on. That was demonstrated most recently here in London in July. They understand the problems that they are trying to wrestle with very clearly, and the old days of good cop, bad cop are gone. I take the police seriously, but I scrutinise what they say. However, even if I did not do that, this House and everyone else would—and rightly so. I ask hon. Members to be a little more even handed than the hon. Member for Billericay (Mr. Baron), and to scrutinise what the police say while bearing in mind the possibility that they might be right.