My Lords, it is a known principle of the law that first-hand evidence is better than second-hand. As one who received and considered interventions in many appeals over the years, perhaps I may intervene briefly to assure the Committee how exactly correct the representations made by the noble Lord, Lord Carlile, and the noble Baroness, Lady Kennedy, were concerning the usefulness of interventions to the courts which hear them.
Of course, there are two stages, as has been made clear to the Committee. First, there is the stage at which the judges consider whether an intervention should be allowed at all. I assure your Lordships that that is a very carefully monitored procedure and that it is far from automatic that an intervener will be allowed to put in an intervention. Secondly, if the intervention is permitted, it is usually fairly briefly presented—and, if I may say so, if it is an intervention by the Members of this House who have mentioned this, very well presented. Some of the regular interveners—the names of three of them are before your Lordships—are of extremely helpful compass and have contributed a great deal to the decision in the proper form of appeals and to the advancement of the law in these cases.
I simply rise to say from the point of view of one who has received many of these interventions and has benefited from them that what has been said on the authority of other people is exactly right.