My Lords, I feel very strongly about the enormous importance of unrestricted freedom of speech in our country. This does not of course apply to the incitement of hatred, which I believe is already an offence, but it should apply to the protection of rational debate and discussion, and the...

My Lords, I feel very strongly about the enormous importance of unrestricted freedom of speech in our country. This does not of course apply to the incitement of hatred, which I believe is already an offence, but it should apply to the protection of rational debate and discussion, and the...

My Lords, we come back nearer to home with the Marine and Coastal Access Bill. This Bill, as the noble Lord, Lord Taylor of Holbeach, said, is long overdue. We all know that our seas, with their exceptional wildlife, have been neglected and despoiled, suffering from gross overfishing and dredging...

My Lords, we come back nearer to home with the Marine and Coastal Access Bill. This Bill, as the noble Lord, Lord Taylor of Holbeach, said, is long overdue. We all know that our seas, with their exceptional wildlife, have been neglected and despoiled, suffering from gross overfishing and dredging...

asked Her Majesty's Government:What terms are in the contract with the consultancy firm Parsons Brinckerhoff to prevent them charging more than their initial quotation for analysing how the environment around the Severn estuary would be affected if a tidal range power project went ahead.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What terms are in the contract with the consultancy firm Parsons Brinckerhoff to prevent them charging more than their initial quotation for analysing how the environment around the Severn estuary would be affected if a tidal range power project went ahead.

My Lords, treading gingerly on a ground on which a succession of political heavyweights have preceded me, I will be brief, unlike many who have taken part in this debate. I had my say about this Bill at Second Reading. I still think that the Government cannot go on disregarding...

My Lords, treading gingerly on a ground on which a succession of political heavyweights have preceded me, I will be brief, unlike many who have taken part in this debate. I had my say about this Bill at Second Reading. I still think that the Government cannot go on disregarding...

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asked Her Majesty's Government:What were the conservation reasons which led to the choice of peregrine, merlin, saker falcon, gyr falcon, goshawk and golden eagle as the study species for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs research project on DNA sampling using fluorescent multiplexing, completed in 2006.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What were the conservation reasons which led to the choice of peregrine, merlin, saker falcon, gyr falcon, goshawk and golden eagle as the study species for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs research project on DNA sampling using fluorescent multiplexing, completed in 2006.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps they have taken to ensure that captive populations of species that they intend to remove from Schedule 4 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 are DNA-tested to check that they are of legitimate stock and to provide baseline data on any future parenting claims...

asked Her Majesty's Government:What steps they have taken to ensure that captive populations of species that they intend to remove from Schedule 4 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 are DNA-tested to check that they are of legitimate stock and to provide baseline data on any future parenting claims...

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they will prepare an impact assessment for amendments to the list of species in Schedule 4 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

asked Her Majesty's Government:When they will prepare an impact assessment for amendments to the list of species in Schedule 4 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Why they revised the criteria used to decide which species should be listed in Schedule 4 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Why they revised the criteria used to decide which species should be listed in Schedule 4 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Which of the 11 non-European Union species proposed by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee for inclusion in Schedule 4 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 already have captive populations in the United Kingdom; and whether this has any effects on the laundering of wild birds smuggled...

asked Her Majesty's Government:Which of the 11 non-European Union species proposed by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee for inclusion in Schedule 4 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 already have captive populations in the United Kingdom; and whether this has any effects on the laundering of wild birds smuggled...

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the likely cost of the two-year environmental assessment of the proposed Severn barrage.

asked Her Majesty's Government:What is the likely cost of the two-year environmental assessment of the proposed Severn barrage.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Who are the members of the consortium to manage an environmental assessment of the proposed Severn barrage.

asked Her Majesty's Government:Who are the members of the consortium to manage an environmental assessment of the proposed Severn barrage.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How individual birds issued with Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) transaction specific certificates, but removed from Schedule 4 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, will be traced by the police for DNA testing if they are suspected of being taken from the wild.

asked Her Majesty's Government:How individual birds issued with Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) transaction specific certificates, but removed from Schedule 4 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, will be traced by the police for DNA testing if they are suspected of being taken from the wild.

My Lords, I must apologise for not being here for the earlier part of the debate but, having a damaged leg, I found that my place in the speakers list clashed with appointments at two hospitals. I thank the Government Whips for allowing me now to speak briefly in the...

My Lords, I must apologise for not being here for the earlier part of the debate but, having a damaged leg, I found that my place in the speakers list clashed with appointments at two hospitals. I thank the Government Whips for allowing me now to speak briefly in the...

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Livsey, for giving us an opportunity to discuss this important issue. I declare an interest as president of the Welsh Salmon and Trout Angling Association and the Radnorshire Wildlife Trust and as the owner of a small fishery on the...

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Livsey, for giving us an opportunity to discuss this important issue. I declare an interest as president of the Welsh Salmon and Trout Angling Association and the Radnorshire Wildlife Trust and as the owner of a small fishery on the...

My Lords, I will revert to the topic that the rest of us have been debating. It is a good many years since I worked in the foreign service, but I still have one concern that troubles me: the extent to which the Government and Parliament, not excluding this House,...

My Lords, I will revert to the topic that the rest of us have been debating. It is a good many years since I worked in the foreign service, but I still have one concern that troubles me: the extent to which the Government and Parliament, not excluding this House,...

My Lords, this House should seek as far as possible to be in tune with public opinion in the country. The more it is, the greater the respect it enjoys and the more influence it has. But on our relationship with Europe neither the Governmentnor we in this House are...

My Lords, this House should seek as far as possible to be in tune with public opinion in the country. The more it is, the greater the respect it enjoys and the more influence it has. But on our relationship with Europe neither the Governmentnor we in this House are...

My Lords, we were all perhaps a little stunned by the votes in the House of Commons last week, but we should not have been too surprised by the massive support for an elected second Chamber because, day after day, MPs, like everyone else, have been reading the extraordinary reports...

My Lords, we were all perhaps a little stunned by the votes in the House of Commons last week, but we should not have been too surprised by the massive support for an elected second Chamber because, day after day, MPs, like everyone else, have been reading the extraordinary reports...