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Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill

Perhaps the Minister will not mind if I add a very few words. I had not intended to intervene but, as a former chairman of a rules committee, I have to say that I have considerable faith in the good sense of the way in which it does its work. But the points that have been made are extremely relevant. It is not really the business of a rules committee to change something so dramatic. As the noble Lord, Lord Thomas of Gresford, has said, I would add that ““unreasonable”” is extremely difficult. The words used by the noble Lord are the standard words that have been used from time immemorial, as the lawyers say. ““Unreasonable”” is nothing like as serious as the other term but is liable to cause considerable difficulties of interpretation.