On 13th January 2021, the House of Lords debated amendments to the Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Bill. Votes were held on the amendments, in which Bishops took part:
Division 1:
The Bishop of Durham took part in a vote on an amendment to the bill tabled by Baroness Massey:
Baroness Massey of Darwen moved amendment 15, in clause 1, page 3, line 2, at end to insert—
“(8A) A criminal conduct authorisation may not authorise any criminal conduct—
(a) intentionally causing death or grievous bodily harm to an individual or being reckless as to whether such harm is caused;
(b) involving an attempt in any manner to obstruct or pervert the course of justice;
(c) amounting to an offence under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 or any offence listed in Schedule 3 to the Sexual Offences Act 2003;
(d) subjecting an individual to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, within the meaning of Article 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Human Rights Act 1998; or
(e) depriving a person of their liberty, within the meaning of Article 5 of Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Human Rights Act 1998.”
The amendment was agreed. Content: 299 / Not Content: 284
The Bishop of Durham voted Content.
Division 3:
The Bishop of Durham took part in a vote on an amendment to the bill tabled by Lord Anderson of Ipswich which would seek to ensure that victims of violent crime are not rendered ineligible for criminal injuries compensation by reason of the fact that the crime was the subject of a criminal conduct authorisation. Hansard
Lord Anderson of Ipswich moved amendment 22, in clause 1, page 3, line 16, at end to insert—
“( ) Notwithstanding section 27, injury sustained by any person shall not be excluded from the scope of the Schemes provided for by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act 1985 and the Criminal Injuries Compensation (Northern Ireland) Order 2002 by virtue of the fact that the conduct causing such injury was authorised under this section.”
The amendment was agreed. Content: 331 / Not Content: 240
The Bishop of Durham voted Content.
Division 4:
The Bishop of Birmingham, the Bishop of Bristol, the Bishop of Durham, and the Bishop of Worcester took part in a vote on an amendment to the bill tabled by Baroness Kidron to insert the new sub-clause 29C Criminal conduct authorisations: granting to children and vulnerable sources.
The amendment was agreed. Content: 339 / Not Content: 235
The Bishop of Birmingham, the Bishop of Bristol, the Bishop of Durham, and the Bishop of Worcester voted Content.
The Church of England in Parliament 
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