Extradition Act 2003 (Amendment to Designations) Order 2006

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Dholakia, for his brevity and his support. In response to the noble Lord, Lord Kingsland, I am delighted to be able to rehearse the issues that we debated with such joy in the previous Session and to see that very little has changed. I absolutely understand his comments about the restraint that he felt obliged to demonstrate when we last considered the matter. I hear him very clearly when he says that such restraint would perhaps not be exercised if this were an elected House. Although he might not have found our arguments convincing last time, I hope that they will grow in attractiveness as the attractiveness of amending this House has grown as time has passed, and that he will be able better to understand why we had the right of the debate. It would be quite wrong to say that the last debate we had on this was an irresponsible act. The noble Lord knows well that these issues have been used in a way that enables us swiftly to return those who have transgressed in other countries to those countries so that matters can be dealt with, and to do so justly. We believe that the order enables us to do that. I understand that the noble Lord is taking this opportunity to use the order very much as a passing bus on to which to jump to make these comments, and I do not criticise him for so doing. It is a convenient bus.