Serious Crime Bill [HL]

My Lords, like the Minister, I rise for the first time on this Bill. Clearly, a lot of water has passed under many bridges since this started and we are arriving in port today. The point raised by the noble and learned Lord, Lord Lloyd, on the admissibility of intercept evidence in courts is to be commended, as he is for his excellent work in pursuing the matter not only in relation to this Bill but in his introduction of Private Members’ Bills. We have supported him in that and will continue to do so. Indeed, he has been so successful that the Government have been forced to concede that there is a need to investigate this whole matter properly. We are grateful to the Minister for saying that the privy counsellors’ committee has been set up. However, that was a little later than anticipated, so I wonder whether he will give us an indication of when it will start meeting, when it is likely to complete its review and when that will come back to the House for further consideration.