Results 1-20 of 169 for speaker:Lord Butler of Brockwell

Scotland: Independence — Question (13 May 2013)

Lord Butler of Brockwell: My Lords, what guidance has been given to the Civil Service about maintaining neutrality between the two sides in the lead-up to the referendum on independence?

Procedure of the House — Motion to Take Note (24 April 2013)

Lord Butler of Brockwell: The method of appointment is not specified in the resolution but, for my part, I wholly agree with the noble Lord. It is right that such a committee should be elected and it should, of course, include representatives of all the groups in the House, as indeed happens in another place. The establishment of the committee has been a success in another place. The Procedure Committee there says...

Procedure of the House — Motion to Take Note (24 April 2013)

Lord Butler of Brockwell: My Lords, I think that I should defer to the Leader of the House but if he would like me to speak first, I am very willing. I support the Motion that the House should establish for the duration of the 2013-14 Session a Back-Bench debates committee but I should first make it clear that I have no particular status in doing so. I was just one of eight Members of the House-who will no doubt speak...

Iraq: Chilcot Inquiry — Question (22 April 2013)

Lord Butler of Brockwell: My Lords, does the Leader of the House agree that the terms of reference of the Chilcot inquiry are so wide as to be almost infinite, and that the timing of the report's publication depends not just on the handling of the representations but on the Government's own clearance of what is to be included in the report? Will he undertake that that process will be done as quickly as the Government...

Death of a Member: Baroness Thatcher — Tributes (10 April 2013)

Lord Butler of Brockwell: My Lords, I have listened to all the wonderful tributes paid this afternoon and this evening, and I have asked myself whether there is anything which I can add. There are just one or two aspects which I should like to add. I was not going to speak about the Brighton bomb because her resolution and courage on that occasion has been widely dealt with. However, since the noble Lord, Lord Deben,...

Justice and Security Bill [HL]: Commons Amendments (26 March 2013)

Lord Butler of Brockwell: My Lords, I want to reinforce what the Minister has said about the prejudice which a sunset clause would have to the confidence which partners would have in us. I noticed that the noble Lord, Lord Marks, was modifying his proposals in his speech because he has recognised that. Let us suppose that an ally is at this moment considering whether to pass confidences to the Government. If those...

Justice and Security Bill [HL]: Commons Amendments (26 March 2013)

Lord Butler of Brockwell: Before the noble and learned Lord sits down, perhaps I may ask a layman's question. It may be an oversimplified one. The essential condition the court has to be satisfied with is not, principally, whether the Secretary of State has considered PII-that is certainly one of the conditions-but that it is in the interests of the fair and effective administration of justice in the proceedings to...

Justice and Security Bill [HL]: Commons Amendments (26 March 2013)

Lord Butler of Brockwell: My Lords, in general, the amendments which the Minister has described are very welcome to the Intelligence and Security Committee. On behalf of the committee and my noble friend who is also a member of it, I thank the Government for the consideration they have given. There are three issues that I should like briefly to put to the Minister. First, he said that in respect of access to...

Strengthened Statutory Procedures for the Scrutiny of Delegated Legislation: DPRRC Report — Motion to Take Note (5 March 2013)

Lord Butler of Brockwell: My Lords, I endorse the tributes which have been paid to the committee's staff, advisers and chairman. They are well deserved. It is indeed gratifying that the Government have accepted the majority of the committee's recommendations. However, as has been pointed out, they have not responded to the committee's recommendation made last July that they should clarify whether they will confirm...

Crime and Courts Bill [HL]: Third Reading (18 December 2012)

Lord Butler of Brockwell: My Lords, I hesitate to intervene in the debate when so many distinguished members of the judiciary have spoken. The fact that I do so is the fault of the noble Lord, Lord Lester. Many years ago, when the noble and learned Lord, Lord Browne-Wilkinson, was about to deliver the lecture to which the noble Lord, Lord Lester, referred, the noble Lord, Lord Lester, encouraged me to speak to the...

Crime and Courts Bill [HL]: Third Reading (18 December 2012)

Lord Butler of Brockwell: Yes, I remember those arguments well. The issue is to what extent the Government-the Executive-should have an interest in this matter. I think that the arrangements that were introduced protect the independence of the Supreme Court and the judiciary, and I would not want to change them.

Civil Service: Permanent Secretaries — Question (13 December 2012)

Lord Butler of Brockwell: My Lords-

Justice and Security Bill [HL] — Report (1st Day) (Continued) (19 November 2012)

Lord Butler of Brockwell: My Lords, I am grateful for the Minister's sympathetic reaction to Amendments 18 and 23. I will make two glosses on it. If I heard him right, he said that Amendment 18 would leave solely to the judgment of the ISC the test for considering an operational matter. I think he is thinking of the amendment that was moved in Committee because this amendment removes both the ISC and the Prime...

Justice and Security Bill [HL] — Report (1st Day) (Continued) (19 November 2012)

Lord Butler of Brockwell: I am very grateful to the noble Baroness, who makes the point from her direct experience.

Justice and Security Bill [HL] — Report (1st Day) (Continued) (19 November 2012)

Lord Butler of Brockwell: I am very grateful to the Minister. On the basis on those assurances, I am very happy to withdraw Amendment 18. Amendment 18 withdrawn. Amendments 19 to 25 not moved. Clause 3 : Reports of the ISC Amendment 26 Moved by Lord Butler of Brockwell 26: Clause 3, page 2, line 32, leave out "a draft of"

Justice and Security Bill [HL] — Report (1st Day) (Continued) (19 November 2012)

Lord Butler of Brockwell: My Lords, this may be the last amendment that we consider this evening. I can move it very briefly indeed because I am very grateful to the noble and learned Lord, Lord Tankerness, for putting his name to it and therefore take it that we are pushing at an open door. This amendment would remove the words "a draft of" in relation to the report submitted to the Prime Minister. The committee does...

Justice and Security Bill [HL] — Report (1st Day) (Continued) (19 November 2012)

Lord Butler of Brockwell: My Lords, this amendment is in my name and that of the noble Marquis, Lord Lothian. I shall couple with it Amendment 23. I am grateful to the Opposition, who have given their support to these amendments. They relate to circumstances in which the ISC may consider operational matters. At the moment, these are defined in Clause 2(3), which states: "The ISC may ... consider any particular...

Justice and Security Bill [HL] — Report (1st Day) (19 November 2012)

Lord Butler of Brockwell: My Lords, I also support the amendment. It is no answer to say that if the information is held by the Cabinet Office, where there is not a Secretary of State, it should be at some other level. Any intelligence information held by the Cabinet Office will belong either to the Home Office, the Foreign Office or some other department where a Secretary of State is responsible. It is not the case...

Justice and Security Bill [HL] — Report (1st Day) (19 November 2012)

Lord Butler of Brockwell: My Lords, Amendment 13 stands in my name and in the name of my colleague, the noble Marquess, Lord Lothian. I move it only to give the Minister the opportunity to move government Amendment 14. Amendment 13 seeks to leave out paragraph 3(3)(b) of the schedule which states that a Minister may decide that information should not be disclosed if, "it is information of such a nature that, if the...

Justice and Security Bill [HL] — Report (1st Day) (19 November 2012)

Lord Butler of Brockwell: My Lords, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment 13 withdrawn. Amendment 14 Moved by Lord Taylor of Holbeach 14: Schedule 1, page 14, line 34, at end insert- "( ) In deciding for the purposes of sub-paragraph (3)(b) whether it would be proper not to disclose information, the Minister must have regard to any guidance issued by a Minister of the Crown or a government department...