Crime and Policing Bill
Debate between Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent and Lord Carter of HaslemereMonday 2nd February 2026
(2 days, 1 hour ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Crime and Policing Bill 2024-26 View all Crime and Policing Bill 2024-26 Debates Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts Amendment Paper: HL Bill 111(Corrected)-XIV(Rev) Revised fourteenth marshalled list for Committee - (30 Jan 2026)
Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)
I apologise, but can I remind Members that interventions are short and sweet? But because this is Committee, people can participate in the debate at their chosen point.
Lord Carter of Haslemere (CB)
My Lords, to conclude, I do not have long comments on this. The Attorney-General would be there in such cases to examine whether something illegal and wrong has occurred, and he could withhold his consent for a prosecution if he considered that that was not the case. He would look at the particular circumstances. He or she would act quasi-judicially and independently of government.
Amendment 456 strikes a perfect balance and should give reassurance to women who have good cause to have a late termination, while preserving the criminal offence for those cases where a late abortion cannot be justified. It therefore meets Clause 191 half way, and I urge fellow Peers to support it.