§ Lords amendment: No. 6, in page 5, line 39, leave out "pass consecutive sentences" and insert "award consecutive terms".
§ Mr. WellbelovedI beg to move, That this House doth agree with the Lords in the said amendment.
This amendment is merely a refinement to enable the drafting to tie in with terms already used in conjunction with Service judicial proceedings. As it is such a minor drafting amendment, I commend it to the House, I hope without contention.
§ Mr. Ronald BellThis will be regarded as contention, but I mention this matter because it strikes me as odd. People sometimes must have terms of imprisonment passed on them, but I do not think they often regard these as awards. The word "award" is usually reserved for more honorific occasions. If the Minister will look at his own Amendment No. 43, he will see these words:
(5B) The term of any sentence passed by a court-martial on such an appeal shall … begin to run from the time from which it would have begun to run if it had been passedand so on. The amendment further reads:(5C) Subject to sub-paragraph (5B) above, a sentence passed on such an appealand so on.It does not, therefore, appear that the word "award" is such an important piece of Service phraseology as to justify an amendment of what is in the Bill already. This is perhaps rather an awkward question for the hon. Gentleman, and I shall not mind if he writes me a long letter about it, but it does rather seem that it is not Service phraseology.
§ Mr. WellbelovedMay I take up the hon. and learned Gentleman's very generous offer and enter into correspondence with him on this point?
§ Question put and agreed to.