Lord Jones (Lab)

My Lords, I thank the Minister for his informed and expert introduction to these timely regulations. When he and I were serving in another place, we were contiguous neighbours; I saw how he was ubiquitous, conscientious, much liked and very successful as an elected Member. Like the Minister, I spent many years as a member of the Intelligence and Security Committee. The committee saw a lot of the security services and high-ranking police officers—understandably so. In all this, the Investigatory Powers Commissioner was, justifiably, for ever lurking in the background. He was very much a wise, reflective, independent person of stature, as the committee thought. Paragraph 2.2 of the Explanatory Memorandum refers to Lucy Montgomery-Pott, a deputy director for the investigatory powers unit. They are truly an important person in all this. Not so long ago, as members of a Joint Committee, we crossed south of the river for a briefing by the then commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. Alongside him was a future commissioner of the Met. The commissioner had assembled the very people who, under direction, exercised those then new powers. We talked to them and noted professionalism and reassuring ordinariness. It was police and Parliament at work together for the common good. I support these regulations and wish the professionals well, though I think, in all seriousness, that a parliamentary democracy and its security services need always to consider each other very seriously. Arguably they will never sit together easily, because we are a democracy. I speak today as a matter of principle to formally challenge the Executive, in the person of the Minister, who propose orders and regulations. Time is of the essence and the temperature is high, but my formal questions are these. Who is the Investigatory Powers Commissioner? What is the length of his service and what might be his contract? Will you declare the annual money or fees he draws for his most honourable services? Presumably he is from the field of law, but what is his expertise and how many staff serve in his office? Again, I thank the Minister for his introductory remarks.