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Criminal Evidence (Witness Anonymity) Bill

I am most grateful to noble and learned Baroness the Attorney-General and to all who have taken part in this debate. I am quite confident of one thing—that there is a common search after truth and good sense in this Chamber. I hope that I will not be thought cavalier if I say that the noble and learned Baroness’s statement that there is now a clear understanding might not be as crystal clear as, I hope, it will become. I have to confess that I am not absolutely clear which common-law rules are being abolished and which long-standing common-law principles are being retained. I am most grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Thomas of Gresford, for emphasising that distinction, because we certainly do not wish to lose those principles. We are all seeking to make progress, so I merely ask the noble and learned Baroness—I hope that this is not asking too much—whether she would be kind enough to undertake to look at this matter extremely carefully before we come back in October and before the Government introduce a properly considered Bill on this matter.