Lord Sherbourne of Didsbury: My Lords, I too pay tribute to my noble friend Lord Lexden, who, as others have said, has been indefatigable in this cause, as indeed have many other Members of the House. I welcome to the Front Bench my noble friend Lady Barran. This is her first debate. The question which concerns us this evening is: how did we allow the reputation of a former Prime Minister to be so damaged by...
Lord Sherbourne of Didsbury: My Lords, on the question of obesity, will the Minister look carefully at the two successful public health campaigns which helped to change behaviour? One was the campaign on AIDS many years ago and the other was the campaign over many years against smoking. Both had beneficial effects on behaviour.
Lord Sherbourne of Didsbury: My Lords, it a pleasure to follow the noble Baroness, whose speeches I always listen to with great interest. She has great expertise in housing, about which she has been speaking this afternoon. This debate is about the impact of government policy on family life. I want to focus my remarks on the way in which this Government, and their reforms, are making life better for families by...
Lord Sherbourne of Didsbury: My Lords, my noble friend referred to the fact that PCCs can be held accountable, but does she not recognise the problem in the case of Wiltshire? After Operation Conifer, the chief constable moved to another area and the PCC is not standing for re-election. How, then, can the public make their views known?
Lord Sherbourne of Didsbury: My Lords, it is a real and genuine pleasure to follow my noble friend Lord Pickles. I have heard many maiden speeches in this House but I have never heard one quite like that. I learned a lot about his early years. Of course, he has had a most distinguished career in local government as leader of Bradford Council, a Member of Parliament —you could not wish for a more assiduous constituency...
Lord Sherbourne of Didsbury: My Lords, as many noble Lords have said, Operation Conifer has created a climate of suspicion around Sir Edward Heath even though we have seen no evidence of any credible allegations made against him. This is why I and many others have called for an independent investigation into Operation Conifer. When I asked the Minister on 19 April whether the Home Office would establish such an inquiry,...
Lord Sherbourne of Didsbury: My Lords, does my noble and learned friend agree that when, in cases such as those of Sir Edward Heath—there would be many others such as Cliff Richard and Paul Gambaccini—people’s names are leaked or made public because the police are on a public fishing expedition and no charge is made, there is no formal way in which they can be acquitted? Therefore, their reputation is permanently...
Lord Sherbourne of Didsbury: My Lords, I too congratulate the department on undertaking a very effective consultation exercise and then taking very decisive action. Does my noble friend the Minister agree that this is an example that other government departments could usefully follow?
Lord Sherbourne of Didsbury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what criteria must be satisfied for them to establish an independent inquiry into a police investigation.
Lord Sherbourne of Didsbury: Is my noble friend aware that the demand for an independent inquiry into the police investigation into Sir Edward Heath is not going to go away? Does she agree that the best thing would of course be for the Wiltshire police and crime commissioner to set up his own independent inquiry? This Tuesday, yet again, he refused point blank to do so. Is not the only option now for the Home Office to...
Lord Sherbourne of Didsbury: Is my noble friend the Minister aware of what has prompted this Question, namely the Wiltshire Police investigation into Sir Edward Heath and the way in which it was conducted by the then chief constable, Mr Mike Veale? The police and crime commissioner has the power, and some would say the duty, to commission an independent inquiry but, for reasons I do not understand, he has set his face...
Lord Sherbourne of Didsbury: First, can I say how proud I am to be part of the 25% of speakers—in other words, men—who are speaking this afternoon and this evening? I hope that next year we can get closer to parity—so I shall be enlisting the help and support of my noble friend Lady Jenkin in this cause. This debate is about the long fight for women to play their full part in the public life of our country. It is...
Lord Sherbourne of Didsbury: My Lords, on the question of Operation Conifer, the investigation into Sir Edward Heath by Wiltshire Police, does my noble friend agree that there has been real public concern about the way that it has been conducted by Wiltshire Police and the chief constable of Wiltshire? What options are available for there to be an independent inquiry into the conduct of Wiltshire Police’s inquiry?
Lord Sherbourne of Didsbury: My Lords, I should say at the outset that this report, I am afraid, makes me feel somewhat uneasy. However, I acknowledge that the noble Lord, Lord Burns, and the members of his committee have produced ingenious, persuasive and seductive proposals. They have done exactly what they set out to do and have done it skilfully. They have come forward with a system that reduces the size of this...
Lord Sherbourne of Didsbury: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 7 November (HL2758), whether they have any evidence of public concern caused by Operation Conifer, which was undertaken by Wiltshire Police.
Lord Sherbourne of Didsbury: To ask Her Majesty's Government which organisations or individuals are entitled to establish an inquiry into the conduct of a Police Authority's investigation.
Lord Sherbourne of Didsbury: My Lords, I was a member of the Communications Committee which produced this report in July last year. I begin by paying tribute to the chairmanship of the noble Lord, Lord Best. I was on the committee for the three years when he was chairman, and one could not have wished for a more effective chairman. He always managed to achieve in our reports that often elusive combination of consensus...
Lord Sherbourne of Didsbury: My Lords, it is a real pleasure to follow the maiden speech of my noble friend Lady Wyld. I congratulate her on a really excellent speech. It gave us insight into the path that has brought her to your Lordships’ House, her strong family background in north-east England, her involvement with business and her political experience at the heart of government. I know that she is involved with...