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Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill

Today, we debated for just an hour new clauses that were tabled just 48 hours ago to outlaw industrial action in prisons. We also debated for just under an hour and a half new proposals that the Secretary of State tabled following his speech to the Labour party conference on important matters relating to home owners' ability to defend their properties. One of my hon. Friends who introduced a private Member's Bill on the subject was unable to be called because there was insufficient time. We then debated sentencing provisions in the Bill for just an hour and a quarter: provisions of serious controversy, particularly in relation to the fettering of indeterminate sentences for public protection, the recall of prisoners and the new bail provisions. All the provisions that I have mentioned so far are in some way new to the Bill—they go beyond the Bill that was introduced on Second Reading. We debated youth justice for just an hour, including—the point was raised by the Liberal Democrat spokesman, the hon. Member for Somerton and Frome (Mr. Heath)—the fundamental principle of the extent to which we should be incarcerating juveniles. We debated the repatriation of prisoners for just a few minutes. We debated blasphemy and incitement to hatred, fundamentally important matters, in less than an hour—