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Royal Marriages and Succession to the Crown (Prevention of Discrimination) Bill

I entirely agree with the hon. Gentleman. My mind goes back to 19 December 2001, when he and I were in the same Lobby supporting the Bill that was introduced by Kevin McNamara. That Bill was slightly wider than the hon. Gentleman's Bill and aimed to amend section 3 of the Treason Felony Act 1948 and, inter alia, abolish the crime, punishable under treason legislation, for even suggesting that a republic might be a reasonable option or for criticising the monarchy in any way, shape or form. In fact, under the wording of the 1848 Act, it was treason to""compass, imagine, invent, devise, or intend to deprive or depose"," which is a pretty wide net. When the hon. Gentleman and I voted on that occasion, the Tellers for the Noes were the hon. Member for Aldershot (Mr. Howarth) and the right hon. Member for North Antrim (Rev. Ian Paisley). The right hon. Gentleman has, it cannot be denied, mellowed—indeed, he has mellowed almost beyond all recognition. However, on 19 December 2001 he was still in the process of approaching mellowing. He decided that he would oppose Kevin McNamara's Bill on a number of grounds, one of which was that whatever we did in this country was not nearly as bad as what the Catholics did in Spain.