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Coroners and Justice Bill

I also want to say a few words in support of what has been suggested by the distinguished Liberal Democrat Peers on this matter. I was a Lord Chief Justice who, unfortunately, had the burden of chairing the former Sentencing Guidelines Council. I had great hopes for it and thought that it was one of the most positive things that had happened recently in the sentencing area. Equally, I accept that for the Lord Chief Justice to be a regular member and chair of the Sentencing Guidelines Council is not desirable. It takes up far too much of his time. I can well understand the amendments proposed by the noble Lord, Lord Bach, in that respect. We found that one of most difficult tasks that the Sentencing Guidelines Council had was to ensure that when the guidelines were issued, they were not immediately rubbished by the media. I can well remember the times that I tried to explain to the media that these guidelines were very sensible and were the product of a great deal of research and very hard work by the council, yet they were given a very rough reception. That damaged the ability of the guidelines to achieve their objective. Therefore, having someone who understood the workings of the media could be of value to the council. I do not say that you have to have someone with that experience but I certainly see nothing wrong with it being a factor that makes someone eligible to be a member of the council. The other two suggestions speak for themselves and my taking up time encouraging their inclusion is not needed.