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Criminal Evidence (Witness Anonymity) Bill

I apologise to the noble Lord, Lord Lester, for not making a more specific reference to his amendment. The proposal is extremely interesting. One might say that my amendment and that of the noble Lord, Lord Thomas of Gresford, could be described as having something of an inquisitorial nature. The amendment in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Lester of Herne Hill, sticks more traditionally to the adversarial system, for which there is much to be said. I would not want the noble Lord, Lord Lester, to think that I in any way underestimated his amendment by not mentioning it in detail. I shall have an opportunity to do so, if there is anything left to say, when we consider it in the context of the appropriate group.