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Terrorism Bill

British Transport Police has already been mentioned. It is clear that that police service is very much on the front line of counter-terrorism activity. It is very much to be commended for holding what it calls community engagement forums, where matters such as stop and search can be discussed in a reasonably informal way with some of those who have been affected. The chief constable pointed out at the most recent forum that Muslims were not being targeted for stop and search. He went on to say that there had been 22,000 stop and searches, but he did not specify over what period. The result was that there had been very few formal complaints. It is possible that those affected did not know they had a right to complain, and perhaps that should be more widely publicised. I have it on the authority of British Transport Police that a person stopped may be asked any question that the police officer wishes to put, but he does not have an obligation to reply. It is not an offence not to reply. Perhaps that could be made rather more widely known. Finally, will the Minister do all she can to ensure that guidance given to police officers, whatever force they belong to, emphasises the importance of having reasonable suspicion before stopping and searching somebody? This will not be possible in all cases, but it should, as far as possible, be the norm.