Governance of Britain

My Lords, I am grateful to both noble Lords for their comments. Given that he was not able to read the documents, the noble Lord, Lord Kingsland, did very well indeed. I would have no hesitation hiring him as my lawyer if ever the need arose. Of course, I understand that the documents that were released alongside the Statement are weighty and need and deserve great care and consideration by your Lordships, the other place and members of the public. We very much welcome the contribution of all noble Lords to the debate. These are very much consultation documents. Many of the recommendations are not firm; they are ideas, suggestions and options. I am sure that we shall all have an opportunity to debate them much more fully over the coming weeks and months. The noble Lord, Lord Kingsland, referred to one of the most important papers in many ways—that concerning war powers. I agree with him that the provision of information to Parliament when it is called on to make such a weighty decision is absolutely critical. I accept that there will always be a balance to be drawn between the needs of security and sometimes diplomacy and the need to give as full information as possible to parliamentarians. Those matters are rehearsed—