HC Deb 15 March 2000 vol 346 cc458-61

2A.—(l) Subject to paragraph 2C, a person detained under Schedule 6 or section 40 at a police station in England, Wales or Northern Ireland shall be entitled, if he so requests, to have one named person informed as soon as is reasonably practicable that he is being detained there.

(2) The person named must be—

  1. (a) a friend of the detained person,
  2. (b) a relative, or
  3. (c) a person who is known to the detained person or who is likely to take an interest in his welfare.

(3) Where a detained person is transferred from one police station to another, he shall be entitled to exercise the right under this paragraph in respect of the police station to which he is transferred.

2B.—(1) Subject to paragraphs 2C and 2D, a person detained under Schedule 6 or section 40 at a police station in England, Wales or Northern Ireland shall be entitled, if he so requests, to consult a solicitor as soon as is reasonably practicable, privately and at any time.

(2) Where a request is made under sub-paragraph (I), the request and the time at which it was made shall be recorded.

2C.—(1) Subject to sub-paragraph (2), an officer of at least the rank of superintendent may authorise a delay—

  1. (a) in informing the person named by a detained person under paragraph 2A;
  2. (b) in permitting a detained person to consult a solicitor under paragraph 2B.

(2) But where a person is detained under section 40 he must be permitted to exercise his rights under paragraphs 2A and 2B before the end of the period mentioned in subsection (3) of that section.

(3) An officer may give an authorisation under sub-paragraph (1) only if he has reasonable grounds for believing—

  1. (a) in the case of an authorisation under sub-paragraph (1)(a), that informing the named person of the detained person's detention will have any of the consequences specified in sub-paragraph (4), or
  2. (b) in the case of an authorisation under sub-paragraph (1)(b), that the exercise of the right under paragraph 2B at the time when the detained person desires to exercise it will have any of the consequences specified in subparagraph (4).

(4) Those consequences are—

  1. (a) interference with or harm to evidence of a serious arrestable offence,
  2. (b) interference with or physical injury to any person,
  3. (c) the alerting of persons who are suspected of having committed a serious arrestable offence but who have not been arrested for it,
  4. (d) the hindering of the recovery of property obtained as a result of a serious arrestable offence,
  5. (e) interference with the gathering of information about the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism,
  6. (f) the alerting of a person and thereby making it more difficult to prevent an act of terrorism, and
  7. (g) the alerting of a person and thereby making it more difficult to secure a person's apprehension, prosecution or conviction in connection with the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism.

(5) If an authorisation under sub-paragraph (1) is given orally, the person giving it shall confirm it in writing as soon as is reasonably practicable.

(6) Where an authorisation under sub-paragraph (1) is given—

  1. (a) the detained person shall be told the reason for the delay as soon as is reasonably practicable, and
  2. (b) the reason shall be recorded as soon as is reasonably practicable.

(7) Where the reason for authorising delay ceases to subsist there may be no further delay in permitting the exercise of the right in the absence of a further authorisation under sub-paragraph (1).

(8) In this paragraph "serious arrestable offence" has the meaning given by section 116 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (in relation to England and Wales) and by Article 87 of the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 (in relation to Northern Ireland); but it also includes—

  1. (a) an offence under any of the provisions mentioned in section 39(1)(a) of this Act, and
  2. (b) an attempt or conspiracy to commit an offence under any of the provisions mentioned in section 39(1)(a).

2D.—(1) A direction under this paragraph may provide that a detained person who wishes to exercise the right under paragraph 2B may consult a solicitor only in the sight and hearing of a qualified officer.

(2) A direction under this paragraph may be given—

  1. (a) where the person is detained at a police station in England or Wales, by an officer of at least the rank of Commander or Assistant Chief Constable, or
  2. (b) where the person is detained at a police station in Northern Ireland, by an officer of at least the rank of Assistant Chief Constable.

(3) A direction under this paragraph may be given only if the officer giving it has reasonable grounds for believing that, unless the direction is given, the exercise of the right by the detained person will have any of the consequences specified in paragraph 2C(4).

(4) In this paragraph "a qualified officer" means a police officer who—

  1. (a) is of at least the rank of inspector,
  2. (b) is of the uniformed branch of the force of which the officer giving the direction is a member, and
  3. 460
  4. (c) in the opinion of the officer giving the direction, has no connection with the detained person's case.

(5) A direction under this paragraph shall cease to have effect once the reason for giving it ceases to subsist.'.

No. 65, in page 106, line 41, leave out from 'shall' to the end of line 48 and insert '—

  1. (a) issue a code of practice about the audio recording of interviews to which this paragraph applies, and
  2. (b) make an order requiring the audio recording of interviews to which this paragraph applies in accordance with any relevant code of practice under paragraph (a).

(1A) The Secretary of State may make an order requiring the video recording of—

  1. (a) interviews to which this paragraph applies;
  2. (b) interviews to which this paragraph applies which take place in a particular Part of the United Kingdom.

(1B) An order under sub-paragraph (IA) shall specify whether the video recording which it requires is to be silent or with sound.

(IC) Where an order is made under sub-paragraph (1A)—

  1. (a) the Secretary of State shall issue a code of practice about the video recording of interviews to which the order applies, and
  2. (b) the order shall require the interviews to be video recorded in accordance with any relevant code of practice under paragraph (a).

(ID) This paragraph applies to—

  1. (a) any interview by a constable of a person detained under section 40, and
  2. (b) any interview by a constable of a person detained under Schedule 6, if the interview takes place in a police station.

(1E) A code of practice under this paragraph—

  1. (a) may make provision in relation to a particular Part of the United Kingdom;
  2. (b) may make different provision for different Parts of the United Kingdom.

9A.—(I) This paragraph applies to a code of practice under paragraph 9.

(2) Where the Secretary of State proposes to issue a code of practice he shall—

  1. (a) publish a draft,
  2. (b) consider any representations made to him about the draft, and
  3. (c) if he thinks it appropriate, modify the draft in the light of any representations made to him.

(3) The Secretary of State shall lay a draft of the code before Parliament.

(4) When the Secretary of State has laid a draft code before Parliament he may bring it into operation by order.

(5) The Secretary of State may revise a code and issue the revised code; and sub-paragraphs (2) to (4) shall apply to a revised code as they apply to an original code.

(6) The failure by a constable to observe a provision of a code shall not of itself make him liable to criminal or civil proceedings.

(7) A code—

  1. (a) shall be admissible in evidence in criminal and civil proceedings, and
  2. (b) shall be taken into account by a court or tribunal in any Case in which it appears to the court or tribunal to be relevant.'

No. 66, in page 106, transpose paragraphs 9 and 10 to after paragraph 2.

No. 67, in page 107, line 5, leave out 'arrested and'.

No. 68, in page 108, line 9, leave out '12(3)' and insert '12(4)'.

No. 69, in page 108, line 21, leave out first '(3)' and insert '(4)'.

No. 70, in page 110, line 36, leave out from 'under' to end of line 37 and insert 'paragraphs 2A and 2B'.

No. 71, in page 110, line 39, leave out 'sections' and insert 'paragraphs'.

No. 72, in page 110, line 40, after 'accordance', insert 'with'.

No. 73, in page 110, line 40, leave out 'that section' and insert 'paragraph 2C'.

No. 74, in page 110, line 43, leave out 'sections' and insert 'paragraphs'.

No. 75, in page 111, line 1, leave out— 'section 56 and 58 of the 1984 Act'

and insert— 'paragraphs 2A, 2B and 2C'.

No. 76, in page 111, leave out lines 3 to 5.

No. 77, in page 112, line 15, at end insert— '(3) For the purposes of this Schedule, an application for a warrant is made when written or oral notice of an intention to make the application is given to a judicial authority.'.

No. 78, in page 112, line 17, leave out 'made' and insert 'heard'.

No. 79, in page 112, line 19, leave out 'an' and insert 'the'.

No. 80, in page 112, line 19, leave out 'will be made' and insert 'has been made, () the time at which the application was made,'.

No. 81, in page 112, line 20, leave out 'made' and insert 'be heard'.

No. 82, in page 113, line 6, leave out 'making' and insert 'who has made'.

No. 83, in page 113, line 29, at end insert—

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