CONSERVATIVE
New Forest East

PRIME MINISTER – INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY COMMITTEE - 12 December 2012

PRIME MINISTER – INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY COMMITTEE - 12 December 2012

Dr Julian Lewis: The Prime Minister has just made a brief reference to the work of the Intelligence and Security Committee. Does he agree with me that the proposal to give that Committee enhanced investigative powers under the forthcoming Justice and Security Bill ought to add further reassurance for the future of the power and ability of democratic bodies to investigate alleged past abuses?

[The Prime Minister: The Intelligence and Security Committee does an important job. I found particularly our recent meeting extremely helpful and informative. The Committee is like a second set of eyes on the judgments of Ministers and others, and it has the access in order to question and call them to account. That is an important part of the picture; as important are the guidance and rules that we set for our security and intelligence services. Those were clearly wanting – they did not exist in this case – but they are now in place.]