My Lords, I am grateful to the Liaison Committee for considering the proposal that I put to it. I am also grateful to the noble Lord the Chairman of Committees for the extremely courteous letter he wrote to me informing me of its decision.

Although no fewer than three committees in the House of Commons were briefed on this subject by the Prime Minister at the beginning of hostilities with elements in Afghanistan, not one of them is considering the whole range of issues that affect this country in terms of international terrorism. One of the committees is doing nothing about the subject whatever and the other two have on-going inquiries which touch only tangentially on the whole subject.

Is it not time that this House ceased to be inhibited by the fact that the other place may also be investigating certain subjects? There is a far higher degree of talent, intelligence and experience, particularly on these matters, in all parts of this House—it is not a matter for jest; it is extremely serious—than exists at the other end of the corridor. It is high time that we stood on our own two feet. We should not merely be saying, "Yes, we shall have a few crumbs which the other place is not looking at and examine that". I hope that the Liaison Committee will examine the matter—