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UK Borders Bill

I am very surprised to hear the Minister say that fraud and counterfeiting cannot attract a sentence of as much as two years. I would have thought that the maximum sentence must be considerably more than that for either of those offences. Other offences for which the maximum is very much greater include theft, for which the maximum is 10 years. Theft can be a fairly minor offence, but the maximum sentence obviously covers a whole range of conduct, including acts that are perfectly trivial and others that are very serious. Fraud and counterfeiting are similar. I would be very surprised if the maximum sentence did not allow for a wide variation in the acts that were brought before the courts. Some acts would justify a sentence of imprisonment of at least two years. I am also very surprised that the Minister did not address my main argument that there are now three separate definitions under Section 72 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002.