Coroners and Justice Bill

My noble friend raises an important question that has been testing the courts, as my noble friend well knows, since the passing of Section 3 of the Homicide Act 1957. Indeed, that is one of the reasons why the Government have introduced the clauses in this Bill. In my view, the test must always be measured against the reasonable man, despite the fact that it seems nonsense to my noble friend. To attempt any other solution would be wholly against the objectives which not only this Government but other Governments who have had to deal with the law of provocation have always sought to achieve.