---

Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill

I am in a dilemma about how generous to be to the Lord Chancellor. Today he has repented of many sins, such as the Government's repeal of the legislation forbidding strikes in the Prison Service and his opposition to our constant demands that the law in this area be restated. However, my hon. Friend is right to say that the right hon. Gentleman made his party conference pledge precisely because he felt that it would be an eye-catching initiative. I think that he has had great difficulty in persuading his Department that there should be any change in the law to match that pledge. We have been here before. Precisely the same thing happened with the previous Prime Minister, Tony Blair, who stood at the Dispatch Box and agreed with us that the law needed to be changed. A few months later, however, after a review had been conducted, he said that we needed only a codification, but by then the signal had been sent out and the press headlines obtained. In fact, no real change was made to the law.