Riot Damages Act, 1886

HC Deb 16 April 1970 vol 799 c1546

2. Mr. Lane

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has for amending the Riot (Damages) Act, 1886.

Mr. Callaghan

None, Sir.

Mr. Lane

As the Joint Under-Secretary of State has made clear to me in a helpful letter that the occasions on which a police authority might be required to pay compensation are likely to be very few, will the right hon. Gentleman consider carefully whether the best course might be to get rid of the Act? In today's circumstances, and in many people's eyes, it is apt to cast an undeserved stigma on the police and put an unreasonable liability on the ratepayers.

Mr. Callaghan

Those are considerations that could be taken into account, but I cannot offer any hope for the repeal of this Act. It was introduced in circumstances which bear astonishing similarities to what has been happening recently, and is a reminder that the accent on our current dicontents is not as novel as we might think.