Compensation Bill [HL]

I hope that Members of the Committee will now understand that this amendment seeks to produce an acceptable Clause 1. I am concerned by what I hear outside this place. There is a rising tide of opinion that it is better to do without Clause 1, which was very much reflected in what the noble Lord, Lord Goodhart, said. The message that I hear increasingly from all sides is that the Government’s foray into this very sensitive area is better repelled and repulsed than improved. I hope that the noble Baroness will understand that the motivation behind many of these amendments is to improve rather than defeat Clause 1. We sympathise very much with the objectives that the Government have. It is probably in this wonderful atmosphere of friendship that I referred to the noble Earl, Lord Erroll, as a friend. Perhaps I may be allowed to say that people reading Hansard will not quite understand the significance of the point, but I do. I apologise if I caused any offence to the independence, impartiality and integrity of the noble Cross-Bencher.