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Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Bill

Yes—undoubtedly. On Report, I made the point that I must face up to the fact that, were I a Minister of the Crown, we would be in government. I conceded that, were it my lot to be a Home Office Minister, having enacted the legislation I might feel that it was hanging over me like a sword of Damocles. However, I would have to put up with that. Ministers have to put up with all sorts of swords of Damocles hanging over them, including, in the case of the Under-Secretary, those hung by the Home Secretary. It is part of a Minister’s lot. If Ministers have to resign because an especially serious scandal occurs, we must live with that, too. The architecture of the Bill does not provide for personal liability. The Under-Secretary and I—indeed, most members of the Committee—agreed with that. From that point of view, the measure is sensible, but it is therefore all the more nonsensical not to include deaths in custody, which are a matter of genuine public concern. Let us consider the Government’s alternative. They appear to offer us a wing and a prayer. The optimistic way of viewing it is that, the moment the Home Secretary is removed from the Cabinet, the incubus that prevents the provision that we are considering from being accepted will be lifted. We might therefore expect the statutory instrument that we all want sometime in the autumn. However, the Under-Secretary, with his customary courtesy, chose his words carefully. Listening to them, it appeared that we are considering a long-term hope. I was troubled because I got the impression from the Under-Secretary’s letter that we were examining the way in which the measure would work in practice. However, his comments today seemed to go beyond that. He almost appeared to be saying, ““See how well we can do without the legislation””, or the bit of it that we are discussing. That is inadequate. Perhaps I did not give Labour Back Benchers sufficient credit earlier. The Government have been required to change their mind at least partly due to Labour Back Benchers expressing their great concern about the matter. That, coupled with events in the other place, is the reality because the Government have a substantial majority. Those Back Benchers who may be wooed by this proposal should think how it will look in the future. I hope that in five years’ time, we will have a Conservative Government who will do what is needed, but if Labour Members’ expectations are fulfilled and there is another Labour Government for a long time to come, I have a nasty feeling that we could be waiting a very long time indeed before the statutory instrument is enacted.