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Government of Wales Bill

By way of underlining the case that my hon. Friend makes, does he recall Second Reading on 9 January and the part of that debate in which the Secretary of State told me that he was preserving his power to intervene in certain cases precisely to protect Parliament? May I put it to my hon. Friend that the mistake that the right hon. Gentleman has made is to regard himself, on the one hand, and Parliament, on the other, as synonymous? Surely if the interests of Parliament are to be protected and we have a choice as to whether the Secretary of State or the House is to do that, most of us would opt for the latter.