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Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill

Before the noble and learned Lord sits down, perhaps he could assist me with regard to the question of financial privilege. In view of what he just said about the Government's ability to invite the House of Commons to consider the amendment notwithstanding the point of financial privilege, does he accept that the Government could also have taken the action of saying, ““We do not accept the amendment for good reasons””—which would be identified—““and, in those circumstances, we ask the House to indicate, in view of what has been said in this place, what its view is of those matters””? Financial privilege has no substance in fact. As all lawyers know, if the facts are totally inconsistent with the conclusion that is reached, that is wrong as a matter of law. An appellate court will always interfere with a fact-finding tribunal's decision if it is wrong in law in that sense.