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Legal Services Bill [Lords]

If the hon. Gentleman will be patient, I shall come to the process and give some examples of the Government not handling lawyers in a different way from accountants and other professionals when they should do so. Is the legal services board independent? I hope the hon. Gentleman and others would agree that the Government are not universally trusted in respect of the appointment process. A survey on whether the Government are trusted with appointments would reveal some reservations. It is not universally accepted that they are the appropriate authority. The Government should be primarily involved in legal appointments, but such appointments should be made with the concurrence of the Lord Chief Justice. Why should the Lord Chief Justice not be involved, to ensure a degree of independence? The criticism that is made is that he is just another lawyer.