Euro 2004 Football Championships (Hansard, 5 May 2004)

§ Lord Bassam of Brighton
My Lords, host arrangements for the Euro 2004 football championships are extensive and the Portuguese Government and police are confident that their security and crowd control arrangements will be effective. The UK Government and other agencies have provided maximum support over an extended period of time and enjoy a close working relationship with the Portuguese authorities.

§ Lord Faulkner of Worcester
My Lords, I thank my noble friend for that reply. Without flattering him too much, will he confirm that the Working Group on Football Disorder, which he chairs, has made a real difference to the state of preparedness for the summer's championships compared with what was in place in 2000? Can he confirm that as a result of passing the Football Disorder Act up to 2,500 known hooligans will be prevented travelling to Portugal compared with just 100 four years ago? Does he agree that this time the Football Association has done everything that it possibly can to restrict ticket sales to persons of good character through its own members' clubs, but that it cannot be held responsible for tickets that might be sold over the Internet?

§ Lord Bassam of Brighton
My Lords, I am always grateful for support on this issue from wherever it comes. I should like to pay tribute to my noble friend for his work on the working group and on other football-related bodies 1103 in dealing with football disorder. I confirm that up to 2,500 people will be subject to banning orders as a result of the legislation that we put in place in 2000. I am confident that, given the approach adopted by the FA, all possible steps have been taken to minimise any disorder and unpleasantness which might take place at the championships. I am sure that everyone in your Lordships' House will want to see the championships go off well and will wish England to be successful.

§ Lord Moynihan
My Lords, in agreeing that the Football Association has worked constructively to ensure a full police and banning order check on the official allocation of tickets for the first round England games, is the Minister aware that UEFA has sold some 80,000 tickets online to fans with English addresses? What representation did the Government make to dissuade UEFA from direct selling online since it has the potential of driving a coach and horses through crowd segregation and effective policing?

§ Lord Bassam of Brighton
My Lords, UEFA has been selling tickets in line with European law. The noble Lord is right that an estimated 80,000 tickets have been sold directly to UK recipients. Those recipients are subject to the same checks that took place regarding those tickets sold through the Football Association. This obviously is a very difficult issue. People are entitled to access ticket sales; otherwise, the marketplace would be fettered. We believe that we have done all that we can to ensure that any potential for disorder is minimised. I congratulate the FA in particular on the way in which it has behaved during the course of discussions and on the actions that it has taken to promote a much more fan-friendly event.

§ Lord McNally
My Lords, does the Minister recall that in previous championships certain British newspapers have tried to present what is essentially a sporting contest as a rerun of World War II? Does he think it right and sensible for either him as chairman of the relevant committee or the Minister for Sport to call in the newspaper editors and say that the police and other authorities will have enough to do in making sure that these games are free from terrorism without incitement from the British press?

§ Lord Bassam of Brighton
My Lords, the noble Lord makes a very good point. Some discussions have taken place with sections of the media. They are being very carefully briefed on the way in which problems relating to disorder have been managed. The noble Lord is right to call on the media to act responsibly in reporting what takes place. Let us hope that they focus some of their attention on the very positive approaches that have been adopted, particularly by the fans' organisations, the FSF, the Football Association and the Government to promote a rather different image of the English fan abroad.

§ Lord Carter
My Lords, is my noble friend aware of the excellent work that is being done by the British 1104 Council and the organisation, Fans 4 England, in building good relations in Portugal around the 2004 competition? I understand that this involves school visits, mini tournaments, links to children in orphanages in Portugal and many other activities. Arising from the supplementary question asked by the noble Lord, Lord McNally, does my noble friend share my hope that the broadcast and print media will give as much attention to these activities as they may give to the brain-dead hooligans, if they get there, whose only objective is violence and the possible ejection of England from the tournament?

§ Lord Bassam of Brighton
My Lords, the last point that the noble Lord made is a very important one. That threat is present. I share the noble Lord's hope and wish that there will be a much stronger focus on the positive moves and steps that have been taken, as I said, by the FSF, the FA, Fans 4 England and so on, to promote a different image of English football supporters abroad. There will be at least 50,000 of them abroad but I am very taken by the approach of adopting a community and providing support and encouragement to local young people, in Coimbra in particular, to participate and get involved in football and see it as something to enjoy rather than something to be frightened of or worried by.

§ Baroness Billingham
My Lords, broadening the issue slightly and looking at security on an international level, is my noble friend satisfied that there will be adequate sharing of information given that we have many international events coming up in the future months, not least, of course, the Olympics in Athens? The news from there this morning was extremely disquieting.

§ Lord Bassam of Brighton
My Lords, those departments that have an international context, particularly the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Home Office, have been working carefully in this field to ensure that steps have been taken to deal with these problems. Yes, while some of the news is depressing, the work that has been undertaken by officials is very encouraging and we should get behind it and support it.

§ Lord Lyell
My Lords, how long does the banning order last—as long as England's participation or until 4 July?

§ Lord Bassam of Brighton
My Lords, the banning order regime is complex, but the banning orders that are in place—and there are likely to be some 2,100 more for the duration of the competition—vary in length. However, if the police prevent people travelling abroad, the noble Lord can be assured that that ban will cover the duration of the competition. It is a matter for the police and the courts whether it needs to be longer than that.

§ Lord Swinfen
My Lords, does the ban stop those subject to it only from travelling to Portugal or can they travel to any other country in the European Union and then gain access to Portugal?

§ Lord Bassam of Brighton
My Lords, that will depend very much on the nature of the ban that has been imposed.

§ Lord Grantchester
My Lords, does the Minister agree that printing an individual's name on a ticket 1105 and requiring it to be matched to some form of identity could prove useful in making sure that tickets do not reach the wrong hands?

§ Lord Bassam of Brighton
My Lords, those are exactly the type of practical measures that have been looked at in the past and continue to be under review, but the issuing of tickets is not directly within the Government's gift. It is a matter that we discuss regularly with the Football Association and it is aware that there are varying views. Yes, of course the practical measures that can be taken should be taken.