Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims (Amendment) Bill

Lord Reid of Cardowan Excerpts

Friday 27th January 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Reid of Cardowan]

My Lords, in the gap I want to add my voice to those who this morning have been commending and supporting this Bill. I have a confession: I was not scheduled to be here. Through the wonders of modern telecommunications, I happened to listen to the opening speech and changed my arrangements in order to be here. On hearing the discussion of wrongs of commission and omission, it seemed that by that definition it would be a wrong of omission for me not to be here, partly because when I was Home Secretary, which I suppose is a declaration of interest, I felt a degree of impotence and frustration when watching the expedient use in the courts of the blaming of the other party and thus the avoidance of justice.

It will be known to all noble Lords that I did not always agree with every nuance of every utterance of every judge throughout that period. But, having listened to the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Butler-Sloss, I thought that she gave a perfect encapsulation of the reasons why we should support this Bill.

There is a broadly moral basis in our responsibility to support those who are least able to defend themselves and sometimes to speak for themselves. But that is not the precise reason for supporting this Bill. It is a matter of justice in allocating responsibility to those who are guilty of omission, although we should never forget the many cases of women—it is mainly women who are involved in this—who, as the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Butler-Sloss, said, are entirely dependent financially and emotionally, and perhaps out of fear, on the male partner. Ultimately, the responsibility for someone who is even more vulnerable—the child or the incapacitated adult—overrides that.

Basically, as someone who has had to preside over the broad custody of the execution of some parts of justice in this country, I say that this is way overdue. I congratulate the people who have brought it in. I wish that previous Governments had made such an amendment but there are rarely occasions when the country, both Chambers, all parties and the whole cross-section of individuals in Parliament agree on an issue. If there was one, this is it and I hope that it gets a fair wind through this House.