After the Government yesterday refused to support amendments to their controversial Lobbying Bill made by charity campaigners, ACEVO’s CEO Sir Stephen Bubb said that it was time to drop Part 2 of the Bill.

Sir Stephen’s comments came after the government tabled objections to the amendments put forward by Lord Harries in the House of Lords, which were subsequently overturned by Commons votes. The Bill will now return to the Lords once again.

Sir Stephen said: “Today’s proceedings in the Commons have exposed this Bill for the absolute mess that it is. The Lords and Commons cannot agree on the detail because the Bill was fundamentally flawed from the start.”

Sir Stephen also warned the Government that it was time to drop the parts of the bill that pertain to charities and civil society campaigners:

“The Government has rejected Lord Harries’ amendments to the bill, and it has rejected Lord Phillips’ proposal of a charity exemption. It has rejected every attempt to address the flaws that litter Part 2 of the bill. There is now no option but to scrap Part 2 of this disastrous bill altogether.’

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