§ Mr. BeithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance he intends to give as to the meaning of the word "urgency" in section 97(3) of the Police Act 1997. [6924]
§ Mr. MichaelThe urgency of any case will depend upon individual circumstances and commonsense. It will be a matter for the authorising officer to assess whether the authorisation needs to become effective immediately and the Commissioner notified subsequently. The Commissioner will consider the reasonableness of that decision and may quash any authorisation or renewal which he believes has not reasonably been given.