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Lords Amendment: No. 22, in page 27, line 4, at end insert new Clause I—
1. In Schedule 1 to the Magistrates' Courts Act 1952 (indictable offences triable summarily with the consent of the accused when adult), for paragraph 2 there shall be substituted the following paragraph, in lieu of that substituted by section 7(1) of the Criminal Damage Act 1971:—
2. Offences under section 1(1) or section 1(1) and (3) of the Criminal Damage Act 1971 or under section 2 or 3 of that Act".
§ Mr. CarlisleI beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said Amendment.
I understand that with it we shall discuss Lords Amendment No. 56, in page 46, line 31, column 3, at beginning insert, "Section 7(1)".
The Amendment is necessary because of the decision in the recent case of the Crown v. Aylesbury Crown Court ex parte Simons and is to put right a situation in the Criminal Damage Act where they held that arson was a separate offence and as such, since it was not specifically shown in the schedule it could not be tried summarily even with the consent of the accused. It was always intended that this offence, although described as arson, should be able to be dealt with in appropriate cases summarily with the consent of the accused, and that is the effect of the Amendment.
§ Question put and agreed to.