Alex White (Labour)

I do not want to add to the Minister of State's discomfiture in respect of this discussion, but it is lamentable that he has not properly addressed the issue put to him by Members on both sides of the House in terms of what is right and what ought to be done in regard to the provision to be made to protect victims. On enabling provisions in legislation, I stated on Second Stage what has always been my view, namely, that there is sometimes an over-reliance on such provisions when it would be more proper to include the detail of the provision in the legislation itself. However, this is not an argument that one should not make these provisions at all. If the Minister of State wants to go further than what we are proposing, which is an enabling provision, I will certainly be prepared to support an amendment he might bring forward to copperfasten what we are suggesting within the legislation itself. What we propose, and what the organisations the Minister of State is correctly so quick to praise seek, is for the question of victims' rights to be addressed in the legislation.

I am disappointed at the Minister of State's response. I did not hear anybody question his sincerity. We can disagree with people while still accepting their sincerity. I assumed it was a given in this business that we all understood and respected each other's sincerity without having to say so explicitly on each occasion. I do not doubt the sincerity of the Minister of State or that of any Member on either side of the House, but that does not stop me from disagreeing with some of them. The Minister of State has got it wrong on this issue.