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Serious Crime Bill [HL]

My Lords, my noble friend Lord Onslow castigated my noble friend on the Front Bench for the position she has taken on these amendments. It is a finely balanced, difficult issue. My noble friend Lord Onslow said that the measure would take away the right of British citizens to a fair trial. The British citizen also has the right to be protected from what we learn are the many threats building up in our society that can be very damaging to our people. It remains to be seen as to whether this measure will work, whether there will be miscarriages of justice, and whether we shall know that there have been miscarriages of justice. I do not know, but I understand the position of my noble friend on the Front Bench. I am glad that my party, which I support, is prepared to give this a go and to see whether we can stop some of these threats. I will support my noble friend with a fairly heavy heart, because we are eroding the protections that we have under the law, but there are times when we are forced to take measures such as this. On this occasion, I will go along with what my party wants.