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Terrorism Bill

I assure the noble and learned Lord that his amendment is unnecessary. I absolutely agree with the way in which he has described the process in Scotland, the role of the Lord Advocate and the role of the procurators fiscal. It would perhaps be helpful if I said a little about Clause 19, to which the amendment refers. It provides that prosecutions for the offences in Part 1 can be brought in England and Wales only with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions, or the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland, in the case of offences committed there. An additional safeguard relates to offences that the Director of Public Prosecutions determines have been committed for a purpose wholly or partly concerned with the affairs of another country. As the noble and learned Lord indicated, proceedings for those offences can be brought only if the Attorney-General, or the Attorney-General or Advocate General for Northern Ireland, agrees with the decision of the Director of Public Prosecutions to consent. The noble and learned Lord, Lord Cameron of Lochbroom, and the noble Lord, Lord Elton, whose amendment we will deal with later, have very properly asked why there is nothing equivalent for Scotland. I include the noble Lord, Lord Elton, because it very much responds to the point raised by the noble and learned Lord, Lord Cameron of Lochbroom. The answer is simple, as I am sure the noble and learned Lord knows: as he has just said, all prosecutions in Scotland are instigated by the procurators fiscal on behalf of the Lord Advocate. Since no other individuals have authority to prosecute, there is no need to seek the Lord Advocate’s consent. He is the only prosecutor. Therefore, the existing safeguards are sufficient. I invite the noble and learned Lord’s attention to Section 117 of the Terrorism Act 2000, which provides for consent for prosecution under that Act. Again, there is no provision for Scotland to reflect the structure of prosecutions there and I see no reason why we should depart from that precedent. It is absolutely clear that the Lord Advocate’s position and that of the procurators fiscal is preserved without any need for its restatement in the Bill. I hope that I have assuaged the noble and learned Lord’s concern that Scotland is still safe, unblemished by the Bill.