Legal Services Bill [Lords]

The hon. Gentleman is correct that the issue is independence, but it depends how one defines ““legal profession””. I shall come on to the process of appointment. We have heard references to the miners and to other individuals. Those citizens, those consumers, are dependent on lawyers when they are in conflict with the state, and they need the assurance and the confidence that they have a lawyer whom they can trust and who is ethically sound and competent. We have all heard of those who are not, but we must support and promote those who are ethical and competent, and they must be regulated by a body that is independent of the state. Such confidence is crucial for the litigation that takes place every day of the week. This morning I was at Stevenage magistrates court, where a client was benefiting from confidence in the independence of his lawyer. It was of great significance to that person, who had been arrested for an offence and charged and was appearing in court. At a late stage of his trial it became apparent that the identification parade that formed the basis of the case against him was undermined by the fact that the photograph of him had been shown to a witness prior to the identification parade. In that case a diligent lawyer had been working hard up to the final hour of the trial to expose that point, which led to the case being discontinued. No doubt the defendant appreciated the independence of that lawyer in his contest with the state in the form of the Crown Prosecution Service.