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Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill [HL]

My Lords, will the Minister think again about a suggestion I made at an earlier stage? Widespread hesitation has been expressed in the House today about the question of definition on the one hand and there has been strong defence by our scientifically qualified noble Lords of the need for a particular type of research on the other. Indeed, we seem to have so many distinguished noble Lords in the House that I wonder whether, equivalent to the noble and gallant and the noble and learned, we need a noble and scientific Lord? The point is that the noble and scientific Lords have defended research on cytoplasmic hybrids. It has been given extensive consideration by the HFEA, both by its ethics committee and in its legal advice—of which the latter is that this is a human embryo from the standpoint of the 1990 Act. There are research scientists banging on the door wanting to get on with this kind of research for the type of reasons that have already been given. Research on other forms of admixed embryo is not yet in the offing, as I understand it. So it would be possible for this Bill to make it quite clear that it is approving cytoplasmic hybrids, with perhaps a regulating power to consider other forms of admixed hybrid when the occasion arises, and when research scientists want to do research in that area. If there is total deadlock on this issue, perhaps I may ask the Minister to consider that way of proceeding.