Lord Wigoder: My Lords, my noble friend Lord Steel of Aikwood whispered to me a moment or two ago that I should consider myself fortunate that after my name on the Order Paper there did not appear in brackets the word "deceased". I thank the noble Lord for his comments. My principal regret is that I leave the committee just as I was beginning to get the hang of what was going on.
Lord Wigoder: asked the Chairman of Committees: Whether he will look into the possibility of Peers' parliamentary mail being forwarded during the recess in an envelope which is easy to open.
Lord Wigoder: asked Her Majesty's Government: For each of the past 10 years for which figures are available, in how many separate trials were convictions obtained for offences involving jury-tampering.
Lord Wigoder: My Lords, is it not perfectly clear that this is not a case where the prosecution failed to disclose the evidence that it had before the trial, but one where the evidence never reached the prosecution at the proper time?
Lord Wigoder: My Lords, perhaps I may ask the noble Baroness for her undertaking that the items set out in paragraphs (i) to (iv), to which the committee shall have regard, are not intended to be an exclusive list and that the committee can have regard to any other matters that it considers appropriate.
Lord Wigoder: My Lords, can the Chairman of Committees remind the House how long the dispute with the other place in relation to the Pugin Room has been going on and what is the present position?
Lord Wigoder: My Lords, as the senior member of the Liaison Committee--I reach that position by equating seniority with long service--perhaps I may say, first, how much I and all the members of the committee admired the care and enthusiasm with which the noble Lord, Lord Chalfont, presented his case. Perhaps I may say, secondly, that I was one of the members of the committee who felt a deep sympathy for...
Lord Wigoder: My Lords, is the noble and learned Lord aware that an expensive glass security screen has recently been installed at Cardiff Crown Court and that, according to a report in The Times this morning, it is not proving entirely satisfactory because, apparently, the defendants can no longer hear a word of the evidence?
Lord Wigoder: My Lords, as a final comment before the noble and learned Lord sits down, may I venture to correct an inadvertent slip on his part? If I heard him aright, he said that the report of the Joint Select Committee was printed on 30th March of this year. It was of course printed on 30th March of last year. As a member of that committee I take an interest in this matter. At the rate of progress we...
Lord Wigoder: My Lords, is it beyond the wit of man to limit the access of prisoners to the means of committing suicide?
Lord Wigoder: My Lords, I have been endeavouring not to interrupt at any stage, but I am tempted by that observation. Do not those figures merely demonstrate that more black people than white people are being wrongly arrested?
Lord Wigoder: My Lords, the noble Lord could elect to answer it.
Lord Wigoder: My Lords, third time lucky! I find myself in a difficult position in wondering whether to follow the noble Lord, Lord Alexander of Weedon, in his powerful and destructive analysis of the Bill. I think that on the whole I shall not do so. Instead I shall confine myself to my principal objection to the Bill which is not to its contents but to the fact that it represents a further stage in...
Lord Wigoder: My Lords, before I--
Lord Wigoder: My Lords, the noble Lord--
Lord Wigoder: My Lords, as a member of the sub-committee I too pay my tribute to the noble and learned Lord, Lord Hope of Craighead, for the fascinating combination of charm and efficiency with which he conducted our proceedings so helpfully to us all. Noble Lords will have read the report and have certainly listened today to a clear exposition of its principal features. It is quite unnecessary for me to...