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Constitution

My Lords, in the context of the intention of Her Majesty’s Government to repeal statute law in relation to the protection of Parliament from protests in its environs and precincts, I invite the Minister to study an episode that occurred in the first half of the 19th century. I think it was in the context of the bread riots. A volatile mob had gathered outside the House of Commons and, as Members entered, they were kicked, punched and thrown to the ground. They immediately sought to censure the Speaker, who had ordered a squadron of cavalry to clear the approach to the House. They were furious because they considered that the sovereign rights of Parliament, as the High Court of Parliament, had been trespassed upon. That principle is still entirely valid today. It is not a matter of legislation; it is a matter of the sovereign right of Parliament, in its own right, to protect itself in that way.