Mr.
Grieve: I was not going to intervene, but I have to say
that, as drafted, the new clause is even more ambitious than the
wildest dreams of a district attorney in
Texas.
Mr.
Heath: Possibly the great state of New York already has
such a provision in place. Texas tends to be
rather introvert rather than extrovert with its legal system—it
is about the only thing that it is not extrovert
in.
I am grateful to the
Solicitor-General. He has covered some of the ground that I wanted to
cover. We have to be a lot more astute in protecting our citizens
against the predations of those operating from outside the country,
particularly on the internet, which makes it too easy for people to be
defrauded. It occurred to me in the example that I gave that we might
need provision for misrepresentation of a position under the Crown or
something of that sort. If people honestly believe that someone is a
Government official, they are far more open to being defrauded than
when someone is purporting to be carrying out a commercial transaction.
We might like to consider that. I was very surprised to hear that the
scam that I described—I think it is a scam—was not an
offence, as his legal advice seems to suggest. Having said that, I have
no difficulty in begging to ask leave to withdraw the
motion. Motion and
clause, by leave,
withdrawn. Schedules
1 to 3 agreed
to. Question
proposed, That the Chairman do report the Bill to the
House.
The
Solicitor-General: Mr. Jones, I thank you and your
colleague for your sterling chairmanship of this Bill, which is very
important, given the impact that it will have on many of our
constituents and in ensuring that fraud will be dealt with. The Bill
was potentially legally quite complex, but it has benefited from proper
scrutiny, provided by Opposition colleagues with care and diligence in
a way that I hope means that the public have been well served. You have
not had to intervene to quieten us down too much. We got on with the
business, answered the questions, dealt with the issues, raised the
difficulties that might be presented by the wording of various clauses,
and got through the Bill. We did the business of Parliament, assessing
the legislation in a proper way that does credit to this Committee and
the chairmanship of you and your colleague. Hopefully, in due course,
that will lead to good
law.
Mr.
Grieve: May I join the Solicitor-General in thanking you,
Mr. Jones? Please pass on our thanks to Mr. Amess for his chairing of
Committee on Tuesday. It has been a very pleasant and short Committee.
In the nine years that I have been in the House, this is the first time
that I been on a Bill Committee in which we completely scrutinised
everything that we wanted to consider. In the past, I am afraid, the
guillotine and the programme motion have usually left some
things—albeit small things, sometimes—not considered, so
this is a first. It bodes well for the future passage of the Bill
through the House. I
thank the Solicitor-General for his response to our points, and I thank
other members of the Committee. It has been an enjoyable experience, as
I thought it would be when I first came into the
Room.
Mr.
Heath: I concur with those sentiments, and thank you, Mr.
Jones, and your colleague Mr. Amess, for your chairmanship of
proceedings. I also thank hon. Members for their contributions. I
particularly thank the Solicitor-General, who was at pains to give
us the fullest replies possible, ably assisted by his officials, and
that is not always the case.
I share the view that we have
done justice to a Bill that has its complexities. It is not a
particularly simple Bill, but it is largely good, and we have had the
opportunity to raise the issues of concern to us. I hope that the
brevity of our proceedings will not be confused with lack of diligence.
I would say, never mind the width, feel the quality. We have had some
substantial debates in a brief time. Overall, I commend the Bill to the
House.
The
Solicitor-General: It was remiss of me not to thank the
officials who helped to prepare the Bill. I am grateful to them for the
way in which they have advised me, and my colleague the
Attorney-General in another
place, throughout. I also thank my colleagues on the Labour Benches, who
have done their duty here, too, when need be.
The Bill has been
dealt with expeditiously, and no doubt those who deal with such issues
will need to consider whether a full day might not be necessary for the
Bill on Report. That matter will, no doubt, be dealt with through the
usual channels, but I just want to put my view on the
record.
The
Chairman: I thank hon. Members for their general good
behaviour and co-operation. This Bill has been a pleasure to
chair.
Question put
and agreed
to. Bill
to be reported, without
amendment. Committee
rose at sixteen minutes to Ten
o'clock.
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