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Offender Management Bill

The groups to which we were working at that stage showed it. I am trying to explain to the noble Lord, Lord Northbourne, why it appears that I was discourteous to him on that occasion when I intended not to be. I said: "““I shall not stray into speaking to Amendments Nos. 25 and 26 because I have said everything I can on them””." I had done so in our first two debates. I note that, when the Minister responded, he said: "““We have not heard from the noble Lord, Lord Northbourne, whose Amendment No. 26 is also in this group. I am therefore reluctant to deal with the amendment he would ordinarily, I am sure, have spoken to””.—[Official Report, 16/5/07, cols. 278-80.]" I am trying to explain to the noble Lord, Lord Northbourne, that we were all trying to be courteous last week. I hope that we did not stray from that. However, I will have plenty of opportunity to develop the importance of the subject when I get to a later amendment, on reoffending targets, which takes a different tack from that taken by the noble Lord. I hope that he will accept my apologies if I am reticent now.