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Legal Services Bill [HL]

Somebody in Europe! I am surprised at the noble Lord, considering the position that the Liberal Democrats take on the European Union. I made the point because the point has been made to me twice in the course of this Bill so far about the German BRAK and the concerns that noble Lords had about the relationship between companies operating in the UK and their ability to operate internationally, including in the European Union. The person that I referred to is Neelie Kroes, the European Commissioner for Competition—she is from the Netherlands. I referred to her, as noble Lords would expect, only because I sit on the Council of Ministers for Justice and Home Affairs. I have endeavoured to talk to her about some of the things that we are doing. Indeed, she invited me to give a speech in Brussels about the reforms in the UK, because she finds them extremely exciting and very interesting.