Part of Orders of the Day — Clause 19 – in the House of Commons at 11:45 pm on 19 May 1986.
It would be churlish of me not to rise to thank my right hon. Friend for his comments and for the way in which he made them. I think that he will have carried with him virtually every right hon. and hon. Member. I was prepared to put the matter to a vote, but in the circumstances and in the interests of arriving at the right answer I believe that I ought to seek the leave of the House to withdraw the amendment.