Member

I am sympathetic to the view of the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Butler-Sloss. I do not want my children to tell me I am about to be killed, which would be inconvenient in a number of respects. I sense concern around the Committee about this. People are saying, “Well, why don’t we just put it in the Bill to make it clear?”, because there is no difference between me and the noble Baroness, Lady Coffey, in relation to the approach. I am sure I will get very strong resistance from the drafters of the Bill, who will say that this is completely unnecessary and messes up the statute book by putting in words that do not matter, but I will raise the issue. I will invite lawyers and anybody else who wants to come to discuss what the result is. I genuinely do not think it is necessary, but I feel the concern of the Committee in relation to it. I also cannot see, if one put it in the Bill, how it would detrimentally affect the Bill. I hope that provides some reassurance.