Contributions
1,746 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDBusiness of the HouseGiven my right hon. Friend’s encyclopaedic and diligent understanding of the particular concerns of Members, he will know that I am patron of the British Nuclear Test Veterans…27 Feb 2020HANSARDDeradicalisation of Prisoners: Longer SentencesWhen the Lord Chancellor introduced the Bill to curtail the early release of prisoners with his usual mix of alacrity and wisdom, I suggested on Second Reading, based on…25 Feb 2020HANSARD Business of the HouseInspired by Keats’ view that “Beauty is truth, truth beauty”, the commission established by the Government to advise on the built environment recently published its report,…13 Feb 2020HANSARD Office Block Conversions: EssexMy right hon. Friend has always been a champion of social justice and, not for the first time, does this House a great service in bringing to our attention matters that are of…13 Feb 2020HANSARD Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) BillThere are two points to be made in respect of what the Minister has just said. First, the vast majority of people convicted under terrorism legislation are sentenced to between…12 Feb 2020HANSARD Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) BillI am talking about the murderous intent of people I described earlier as wicked. I use that word advisedly: not all these people are mentally disturbed. Some may be, and we know…12 Feb 2020HANSARD Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) BillMy hon. Friend is going to try to persuade me not to.12 Feb 2020HANSARD Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) BillI would not have wanted to suggest anything other than that. The hon. Gentleman was very clear that he had heard what the Government said about having taken that advice and their…12 Feb 2020HANSARD Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) BillNow I might really test your patience, Dame Eleanor, because my hon. Friend invites me to articulate a Burkean case against natural rights, which I will be happy to do, but…12 Feb 2020HANSARD Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) BillI waited to intervene until a point at which I agreed with the hon. Lady, because I thought that was in the spirit of this debate. She is right about the need to review these…12 Feb 2020HANSARD Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) BillMy right hon. and learned Friend will remember that we worked together on these matters when I was in the Government. He is right to speak about the metamorphosis of terrorism.…12 Feb 2020HANSARD Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) BillThe hon. Gentleman is making a point about capacity, and that seems to be reasonable. Early release—scores of convicted terrorists have been released early since 2013—adds to…12 Feb 2020HANSARD Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) BillThere are well-established ways of differentiating people in those terms, different ways of dealing with them in law, different ways of dealing with them once convicted, and…12 Feb 2020HANSARD Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) BillFrom his long experience of these things, my hon. Friend is making a cogent argument about the character of penalties. He might want to go further. The problem with the assumption…12 Feb 2020HANSARD Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) BillWe have well-established mechanisms, of the kind I have just described, for doing exactly that. Sometimes the Government build a review mechanism into legislation, but much more…12 Feb 2020HANSARD Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) BillAs ever, my hon. Friend is making a compelling case. I suggest to him that this requires a more fundamental review of the characteristic and extent of rights, and how they relate…12 Feb 2020HANSARD Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) BillThat is not an argument about the length of the sentence; that is an argument about how people are dealt with when they are incarcerated.12 Feb 2020HANSARD Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) BillI will just finish my sentence, and then I will give way happily to my right hon. and distinguished Friend. The Government have said, and the Secretary of State was clear about it…12 Feb 2020HANSARD Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) BillExcept for love infused by hope, fear is the most vivid of emotions. Love is perhaps more readily remembered, but fear is more easily envisaged, because fear in itself is the…12 Feb 2020HANSARD Terrorist Offenders (Restriction of Early Release) BillWe do, in fact, have an independent reviewer of terrorism legislation. In that context, I was privileged to work with Lord Carlile—a former Liberal Democrat Member of this House,…12 Feb 2020