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Terrorism Bill

I rise briefly to compliment the Minister on the speed with which she moved the amendment and also to join other Members of the Committee in welcoming it. I warmly commend the Government on moving to address a number of concerns from the academic community, including Universities UK. It was clear from the outset that the fears raised in academic circles were not the Government’s intention. Particularly, the Minister has now addressed the reference to suspicion, which was very broad. I am delighted that my noble friend has brought forward this amendment. As far as I can see it solves the problem with the drafting of Clause 6. If the amendment is adopted, the condition for falling foul of this offence will be that the person in question knows that the person receiving training in the skill in question intends to use that skill in connection with terrorism, which is entirely reasonable. I have no hesitation in thanking the Minister again most warmly for bringing forward the amendment, which I shall certainly support.