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Terrorism Bill

Our names are added to the amendment and we wholly endorse what the noble Lord, Lord Goodhart, said in support of it. The text as it stands could be a serious interference with the freedom of speech, particularly as there are no stipulations about what knowledge or status the police officer would have. A constable is mentioned, and that is that. It is very hard to see how someone of that status, however competently they fulfilled their role, could possibly have the expertise to make the judgment that they would be asked to make. So I respectfully submit that the amendment is essential to make Clause 3 compliant with what we would expect of a clause respecting the freedom of speech.