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House of Lords Bill [HL]

Yes, my Lords. The Bill provides for permanent leave of absence, including by means of failure to attend, and for cessation of membership of the House in cases where a Peer is found guilty of a serious offence or offences. The intentions here are entirely sensible and would need to be dealt with in any wide-ranging reform. However, I agree with the noble Lord, Lord Trefgarne, that we need to look at the practical implications of the proposed approach. The noble Lord, Lord Steel, said in his opening remarks that it would be entirely proper and appropriate for some noble Lords to be absent. He mentioned the Governor of Hong Kong as an example. We have recent examples too: the noble Lord, Lord Robertson, was Secretary-General of NATO, while the noble Lord, Lord Waddington, was Governor and commander-in-chief of Bermuda. Still, I question whether under those circumstances they should be made to go before a committee to plead their cause. I ask the noble Lord, Lord Steel, to consider that. There is a slightly different position with regard to Justices of the Supreme Court. Under the current provisions of Clause 12(1) of the Bill, judges would be likely to be deemed—