---

Fraud Bill [HL]

I was surprised to hear the noble Baroness suggest that the rule derives from a time when the wife was regarded as the chattel of the husband. I thought the theory was that man and wife were one flesh and that, in order to preserve the sanctity and privacy of marriage, matters of this sort were not gone into, just as one spouse was not a compellable witness against the other. I do not think it is a feminist issue at all, but I am interested to hear the response of the noble and learned Lord.