Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Bill

My Lords, on behalf of those on these Benches, I pay tribute to Lord Chan. I had known Lord Chan for more than 20 years, since his appointment to the Commission for Racial Equality and through his continued membership of a number of other public bodies. He was the first people’s Peer to be appointed to the House of Lords. As a member of that commission, I am delighted that our judgment was proved right in his particular case. Human rights, race relations and issues related to his personal profession of medicine were close to Lord Chan’s heart. In an unassuming way, he reflected those issues in your Lordships’ Chamber. More interestingly, by his contribution to the Second Reading of this immigration Bill, he was able to highlight issues affecting the Chinese community. He was at the forefront of such issues and we recollect his contribution to our debates on the tragedy of the Morecombe Bay cockle pickers. To an extent, he activated the Chinese community, which was reflected in a number of meetings we all had. I attended a Chinese New Year function last night at which I met a Chinese representative. I was told that they all miss him. One thing that came out clearly was appreciation of the Minister’s indication of how she will take the issues forward. We are all grateful for that. Clause 1 [Variation of leave to enter or remain]: