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Terrorism Bill

I welcome everything that the noble Baroness said on the amendment. I noted that she spoke of the extent to which the British Library engaged with and was influential among the network of library and library services across the world especially, I suspect, within the Commonwealth. That therefore gives me an opportunity to make an observation, which needs to colour a lot of our consideration of the Bill, and needs to be in the back of our minds. The Bill of course relates to behaviour in this country. But, particularly across the Commonwealth, we have a responsibility for all kinds of influence, even example, and in a range of states in which we exert much influence, there are significant threats to freedoms of all sorts, including intellectual and academic freedoms. Among my concerns about the Bill, at this point and at a number of others, is that the potential influence of the British Government and of British institutions may be weakened if our own legislation goes down illiberal routes in this, as in other matters. We need to keep our eye on how this and other parts of the legislation are likely to be quoted abroad.