Private Security Industry (Hansard, 25 April 1996)

§ 9. Mr. Mullin
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has for regulating the private security industry; and if he will make a statement. [25045]

§ Mr. Maclean
We are still considering the case for regulating the private security industry.

§ Mr. Mullin
Has the Minister noticed that Lowther Construction, a company based in his constituency, has been employing an armed robber as a security guard—or at least it was until he was arrested on charges of supplying heroin? When will the Minister overcome his obsession with deregulation and do what all sensible people of all political persuasions both in and outside the industry are begging him to do: start regulating the private security industry?

§ Mr. Maclean
The hon. Gentleman and his party are very keen on regulation and more regulation, but they have not thought out the details and there is no blueprint for how it should be done.

§ Mr. Purchase
Get on with it.

§ Mr. Maclean
That is the Opposition's response to all regulation issues: they do not care about the details or the effect on criminal law or the industry; they would simply regulate and hope for the best.
The Home Affairs Committee has produced a very thoughtful report to which we are giving careful consideration. We have accepted many of its recommendations and we are working on the details of our White Paper on criminal record checks, which will address many of the problems in the industry. When we have formed our conclusions. we shall announce our proposals for the private security industry—whatever they may be.

§ Mr. Michael
Why does the Minister appear so unwilling to regulate the crooks? Does he realise that the experience of my hon. Friend the Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. Mullin) is not unique? What has the Minister to say about the experience of the police? For example, a police superintendent told me about a man with 23 pages of convictions on the police national computer who is running a private security firm. The police, the Labour party and the private security industry want statutory regulation of the industry. Why will not the Home Secretary bring in legislation to protect the public, instead of continuing to act as the villain's friend?

§ Mr. Maclean
It will not surprise the House to know that I anticipated that the hon. Gentleman might end with that jibe, so before coming to the House I looked up the Labour party's voting record—not on regulation, but on Bills to deal with people who have been convicted of crime. In 1988, Labour voted against the power to increase from two years to 10 the penalty for cruelty to children. Labour voted against penalties for hard drugs. Labour voted against the maximum penalty for taking a gun to crime. Labour voted against every prevention of terrorism Act until this year. Labour voted against many parts of the last criminal justice Bill and sabotaged others. We will produce our proposals for the private security industry in due course, but we will not take lessons from the Opposition when over the past 15 years they have voted against every measure that would have locked up more criminals.