New Clause 2 — Judicial Independence

Part of Courts Bill [Lords] – in the House of Commons at 5:30 pm on 20 October 2003.

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Photo of David Heath David Heath Shadow Spokesperson (Home Affairs) 5:30, 20 October 2003

With the leave of the House, I should like to say that we have had an interesting little debate. I am most grateful to Mr. Hawkins for his support, and that of his colleagues, and to my right hon. Friend Mr. Beith, whose analogy of the Lord Chancellor as a stripper with a train to catch will live long in my memory. The next time I see the noble Lord Falconer, I shall try hard not to let that image form in my mind as I am speaking to him.

I understand the frustrations of Mr. Howarth with the legal system; I often share them. He is not the only one to have experienced cases such as these, as he knows. I have no difficulty accepting that there is a proper place for criticism of the system as a whole and, sometimes, of individual decisions. Indeed, the judiciary is sometimes guilty of the charge of a degree of unwarranted complacency. I recall that Lord Hewart told the Lord Mayor's banquet in 1936 that

"His Majesty's Judges are satisfied with the almost universal admiration in which they are held."

I would not suggest that that is necessarily a statement of the current position; nor would I suggest that many present-day judges would be quite so complacent about the esteem in which they may or may not be held by the public. There is, however, a clear division between criticism and pressure from a person in a position of authority—that is, a Cabinet Minister, or the Government as a whole. That was the distinction that I was trying to draw.