Lord Markham (Con)

Over many days and probably 300-plus amendments we have discussed many points, but in my opinion this is probably the most important and significant of them all. Unlike any other regulator, this set of clauses gives this regulator the power to take money from one part of the organisation and give to another. You do not see a regulator being able to take from Severn Trent and give to Thames in the water industry, or from Barclays to NatWest in the banking space. Without doubt, this is the most important thing that we are talking about here: giving power to a regulator that is unheard of in any other domain. I must admit that I was taken aback by the Government’s suggestion. Again, in all this there is no doubt that everyone is trying to get the best approach and that we all sincerely want what is best for football, but I hear the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Birt, that the pendulum mechanism really is untried in this domain. There is a real risk of gaming and, as mentioned, Russian roulette. Instead, as an alternative, we have here a very thoughtful approach—maybe not put forward by a Pelé, a Bobby Charlton or a Messi, but put forward by a former BBC director-general who dealt with many media sports rights; a former Lord Chief Justice; a former head of Ofcom; a former head of the Civil Service; a former Archbishop of York; a distinguished economist; and a distinguished and sometimes expensive sports lawyer. I think we would all agree that we probably have a Pelé, a Messi and a Charlton of this subject matter before us today, and that we would be very wise to take on board all the comments, knowledge and vast experience that they bring. That is why for me the key question was put by my noble friend Lord Hayward: whether the Minister is willing to consider this further. I know that she has spent a lot of time on this subject, as have the Secretary of State and other Ministers, and we are grateful for that, but it is worthy of further time, given the importance of what is before us today. I request that this be brought back as a commitment at Third Reading. I am nervous that we will just get an undertaking that this will be considered, because of course it still needs to go through the other place, and we know that the other place has a large government majority without the benefit of the learned Cross-Bench Peers we have heard from today. I will listen carefully to the Minister’s words and the response to them from the noble Lord, Lord Birt, but I note that any Peer is able to divide the House. From our side, if we do not feel we have the undertaking that this will be brought back at Third Reading, we will seriously consider dividing the House.