HC 649 - Notification of the arrest of members

Download or read book HC 649 - Notification of the arrest of members written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Select Committee on Procedure and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2015 with total page 33 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Procedure Committee has, at the Speaker's request, considered the House's present practice in requiring police forces to notify the Speaker of the arrest of any Member. The House requires the Speaker, on receipt of a notification of arrest, to notify the House accordingly by laying the notification on the Table and causing it to be published in the Votes and Proceedings. The practice is connected to the House's claim - now purely symbolic - to the privilege of freedom from arrest, which itself derives from the principle that the House must have first claim on the attendance of its Members. This claim has never been allowed to interfere with the administration of criminal justice. The Committee considers that the practice of notification should be retained, since it is linked to the House's assertion of its right to the attendance and participation of its members, and the House must be in a position to be able to ensure the attendance of its members should it be required. To remove any doubt as to the basis for the requirement, the Committee invites the House to pass a resolution restating its claim.