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Proposed Directive (Information Systems)

The motivation behind the change in the law might or might not be worth while, but there is a question about how and where we determine the legislation that governs this country. Will the Minister confirm that this directive has been agreed notwithstanding the fact that it was held under reserve by the European Scrutiny Committee and that it involves a change in the law and, apparently, the creation of new criminal offences, all of which are taking place without an opportunity for a debate in this House, let alone a vote? Has our law-making process not been bypassed altogether so that we now have a law that, whatever its merits, has simply been made in Brussels?