§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the Government's policy towards the proposals discussed at the recent meeting in Brussels of the European Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in respect of the interception of communications. [64470]
§ Mr. StrawThe Government's policy towards co-operation between member states of the European Union on interception of communications remains as reported to the House of Lords Select Committee on the European Communities and recorded in their Report Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (14th Report, 727W Session 1997–98). Justice and Home Affairs Ministers meeting in Brussels on 3 and 4 December addressed a number of questions relating to the latest text of the draft Convention. We have reached agreement on much of the interception provisions. We are now seeking to ensure that the text accommodates important features of our own interception law and policy as well as that of other member states. In particular, differences in national legislation should not have the effect that operations carried out in relation to the United Kingdom's security and intelligence agencies would fall within the scope of the Convention when it will clearly not apply in relation to their equivalents in other member states. The Government's position on the latest text is under consideration by the European Scrutiny Committees.