Legal Services Bill [HL]

I do not know whether it is in order for me to speak briefly. I want to make a point that I do not want to elaborate on but I think that it would be rather hypocritical of me simply to go along with what the Minister said. I believe that an objective analysis might find some difference in the degrees of independence of some of the bodies that have been appointed from time to time. I speak as a lawyer and have obviously declared my interest and I might be thought to be parti pris on this, but the importance of independence of the legal professions in any free society is great. Their duty to stand up to Governments and to the sometimes overweening power of the authorities of whatever sort, sometimes in moments of great unpopularity, is such that we should seriously consider a method of appointment which is even more clearly independent than the others. Of course, I support all the Nolan principles and those that the Minister has so eloquently adumbrated, but I am not completely happy inmy own mind that they always work. We should continue to pursue with a good deal of vigour what we are seeking to achieve by this and related amendments.