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Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill

My Lords, first, a possible answer for the noble Lord, Lord Campbell of Alloway, is that the amendment would certainly in no way inhibit the judges of the Court of Appeal doing justice in a particular case—it would, in fact, enable them to do it more expeditiously than would a possible amendment which is being floated by the Government. On the Minister’s reply, I am of course glad that the Government now accept that the existing clause is far too wide. He suggests that my amendment is still too wide, because it would enable the Court of Appeal to dismiss an appeal that has merit and which it would not otherwise dismiss but allow because it is conjoined with another ground of appeal that happens to be based on change of law. I do not understand that. It is not just a question that the Court of Appeal would never in its life do such a silly thing but it is not something that flows from the language of my amendment as I see it. Having said that, I will try to attempt the thing that the noble Lord, Lord Kingsland, says can never be done: to persuade the Government that someone else’s wording is better than theirs. In that hope, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.