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Postal Services Bill [HL]

My Lords, I join the noble Lord, Lord Hunt of Wirral, in thanking the Secretary of State for the courtesy he has shown to us throughout the Bill’s passage. I endorse everything that he and the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, have said about the way in which the debate has been conducted. However, I would add one little coda to that. It will have been apparent to everybody who sat through your Lordships’ debates that the noble Lord, Lord Clarke of Hampstead, did not necessarily agree with the Bill. The fact that he conducted his rearguard action with such skill does him great credit, even if he has not carried the majority of his own party or either of the opposition parties on many of the points that he raised. The real creator of the Bill, Mr Richard Hooper, is sitting in the Public Gallery, and we are very glad to see him here. Bill passed and sent to the Commons.