Coroners and Justice Bill

I was only going to add one or two points. Several of the interventions made by the noble Lord, Lord Lester of Herne Hill, as distinct from his original speech, were probing, particularly on Clause 145, with the detailed instructions to judges expressed in such a broad way that I do not know how on earth you would get any judges to be consistent and persistent in their attitude to cases that may arise. I listened to the Minister, and I respect the way in which the consultation has been conducted and the fact that the views of different groups have been taken into account. Unfortunately, however, I do not think that he has taken adequately into account the very strong views expressed in this House. He constantly referred to the views expressed in the House of Commons and the lack of opposition but, as is so often the case in the other place, that debate was hurried and encouraged by the Whips to be almost non-existent, whereas in this House, as we all know, there is freedom of speech on a considerable scale. Finally, I direct my remarks to the noble Lord, Lord Hunt. He gave a modicum of support to the Government. He was not certain that he would vote against the proposition that these clauses should stand part of the Bill. I do not understand how he can be satisfied by the answers given by my noble friend the Minister. I am certainly not satisfied. I will not call for a vote today but Ministers and the whole House can be assured that we—and I am sure that I can speak also for those who supported this question today—will return to this at Report. Clause 138 agreed. Clauses 139 to 142 agreed. Clause 143 : Deriving a benefit Amendments 192A to 193ZC not moved. Clause 143 agreed. Clauses 144 and 145 agreed. Clause 146 : Limits on recoverable amount Amendments 193ZD and 193ZE not moved. Clause 146 agreed. Clause 147 : The available amount Amendments 193ZF and 193ZG not moved.