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Civil Aviation Bill

My Lords, there are two reasons. First, we do not put into Bills anything that is superfluous just as some kind of gesture or indication of intent. Law is about enforcement and conditioning behaviour. If we already have powers to do something, we do not add to them, otherwise we would have Bills that were simply accruals of additional concepts on all legislation. That is not how we draft legislation. Secondly, if the noble Lord is suggesting that this is a fortuitous opportunity for the most junior member of the Department for Transport to demonstrate the Government’s position and their abhorrence of extraordinary rendition and the possible infringement of international law on torture, all that I can say is that my humble gesture would pale into insignificance compared with the statements made by the Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary and other members of the Government. So it will not do to say, ““This Bill is your chance””; much as I might like to seize it, that is not how we construct legislation.