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Coroners and Justice Bill

All I am saying at this stage is that the noble Lord is right to point out the difficulty of understanding what "reasonable" means in these circumstances. How would the conflict that the noble Lord and I have identified be resolved? Would we see inconsistencies in verdicts emerge in different parts of the country unless a standardised view of what is a reasonable jury is formed? The mandatory life sentence at least has the virtue of being consistent. On the issue of consultation, I know that the noble and learned Lord, Lord Lloyd, does not pursue this matter lightly; I know and admire the formidable amount of time, thought and energy that he has devoted to developing his arguments, as we saw with the contributions of many noble Lords. But such a move as his amendment would require in the operation of the system of jury verdicts and in changes to the law on sentencing, I hope noble Lords agree, deserves fuller and more public debate. We would gladly participate in any such public discourse, but we firmly believe that we would need to involve all the key organisations—the Bar Council, the Law Society and the Law Commission—far in advance. I say to the noble and learned Lord and to all noble Lords who have participated that it is very important that we have this debate. Noble Lords have conducted it to their usual commendable high standards and I apologise if I do not seek to respond to every point raised but, for the reasons that I have outlined, I cannot at this stage and on this occasion commit the Opposition to supporting the noble and learned Lord.