COMMONS AMENDMENT (Hansard, 28 October 2003)

§ Lord Filkin
My Lords, on behalf of my noble friend Lady Scotland of Asthal, I beg to move that the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendment 141 No. 1. This is the first of a sequence of amendments, which I trust will not be contentious, because they are either technical or are in many respects a response to this Chamber.
The first amendment puts beyond doubt or peradventure that Clause 2 explicitly requires that a person, whether they are a party or a witness, must be served with an explicit notice that makes it clear that, in responding to a right of attendance abroad, they may not be accorded the same rights or privileges as a witness in domestic proceedings.
There is no a division between us on the purpose. The only doubt was whether it was as explicit as it was felt that it should be in primary legislation. To avoid further suffering, we have agreed to put it in the Bill, so it can be in no further doubt.

§ Baroness Anelay of St Johns
My Lords, I get the sense that the House is keen to move on to the next business of the day, so I have given notice to the noble Lords, Lord Filkin and Lord Goodhart, that I shall speak only on this amendment and none other.
The Minister is right to say that the amendments are a response to concerns expressed throughout the passage of the Bill. In particular, I thank the Government for introducing Amendment No. 9, which is a response to the only remaining bone of contention on Third Reading, when we won a Division supported by the noble Lord, Lord Goodhart. It raised a question about the behaviour of officers from overseas when carrying out surveillance in this country. I believe that the Government's Amendment No. 9 fully achieves the objectives that we had hoped to achieve in our own amendment and is superior to our amendment in that it fully keeps within the normal realms of a statute and how it affects behaviour. I gratefully accept that, and I have no objection to any other amendment.

§ Lord Goodhart
My Lords, as Amendment No. I was moved in another place by my honourable friend Mr David Heath and accepted by the Government, I support it with pleasure.