HC Deb 15 May 1984 vol 60 cc303-4
Mr. Hurd

I beg to move amendment No. 286, in page 88, line 12, leave out '(in this section referred to as "scheduled offences")'.

Mr. Deputy Speaker

With this it will be convenient to take Government amendments Nos. 287 to 294.

Mr. Hurd

In these amendments we have made a valiant effort to meet some concerns expressed in Committee on the definition of "serious arrestable offence". I am sorry that the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton (Mr. Kaufman) is not here. That was one of the difficulties on which he concentrated. I hope that the Opposition will aknowledge that we have done our best to meet it.

Mr. Dubs

I should like to acknowledge the improvement that has been made to the clause.

Amendment agreed to.

Amendments made: No. 287, in page 88, leave out lines 19 and 20.

No. 288, in page 88, line 21, leave out 'subsection (4)' and insert 'subsections (3A) and (4)'.

No. 289, in page 88, line 22, leave out from 'serious' to first 'to' in line 25 and insert 'only if its commission—

  1. (a) has led to any of the consequences specified in subsection (6) below; or
  2. (b) is intended or is likely'.

No. 290, in page 88, line 26, at end insert— '(3A) An arrestable offence which consists of making a threat is serious if carrying out the threat would be likely to lead to any of the consequences specified in subsection (6) below.'.

No. 213, in page 88, line 28, leave out '1976' and insert '1984'.

No. 291, in page 88, line 32, leave out subsection (5).

No. 292, in page 88, line 40, leave out '(5)' and insert '(3A)'.—[Mr. Hurd.]

Mr. Eldon Griffiths

I beg to move amendment No. 310, in page 89, line 5, at end insert 'including the creation or satisfaction of an addiction to drugs'. I seek to ensure that the Bill covers the problem of hard drugs. The amendment is defective in that the word "controlled" is left out, when it should have been included.

The trigger mechanism of much of the Bill is the term "serious arrestable offence". In the list of offences there is no reference that I can find either to drug trafficking or to the use of drugs to secure acts of terrorism. I wish to ask my right hon. Friend the Minister to have another look at the matter before the Bill arrives in another place and to see whether it is appropriate to include in the list of offences which trigger the "serious arrestable offence" provision something that will cover drugs.

Mr. Hurd

I agree that the offence of supplying dangerous and controlled drugs is serious and that the full range of investigative powers is needed.

Subsection (8) defines "injury" as including any impairment of a person's physical or mental condition. Addiction to drugs such as heroin certainly constitutes a serious impairment of that sort. As a rule, the offence of supplying such drugs is likely to lead to such impairment even if the supplier did not intend it or it is impossible to establish that a person's health has been impaired. The supply of dangerous drugs in commercial quantities is likely, unhappily, to result in substantial financial gain, and therefore subsection (6)(e) also applies. 'The definitions in the clause cover the serious point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Bury St. Edmunds (Mr. Griffiths).

Amendment negatived.

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