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Criminal Evidence (Witness Anonymity) Bill

I do not know what the noble Lord, Lord Kingsland, will do, but I shall seek the opinion of the Committee on my amendment in any event. It is necessary to have a proper framework rather than leaving it to the individual judge to decide the scope and powers of the special counsel that he seeks to appoint. I have made this point before and I do not need to repeat it. It is very important to give guidance to judges on how to operate this common law power and not leave it in mid-air. Better to have a scheme that is clear now and change it if it proves ineffective or leads to an unfair trial, or even if it is too expensive. We can change it when we are considering the new provisions to be introduced rather than leave it up in the air, in the way that the noble and learned Baroness suggests that the Government will do.