Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill

I am grateful for my hon. Friend’s intervention. Of course I have read the Committee’s proceedings. They make my point that this country has had 15 years of expert thinking about freedom of information legislation, whereas I believe that the Committee sat for exactly one hour—one hour’s consideration was given. The right hon. Member for Penrith and The Border praises the Committee, but he knows perfectly well that the membership of a Committee that considers a Private Member’s Bill is rightly chosen by the promoter of the Bill. Such a Committee is not balanced in the way that ordinary Public Bill Committees are; this was a Committee of his supporters from both sides of the House.