Part of Extradition Bill – in a Public Bill Committee am 4:00 pm ar 21 Ionawr 2003.
It remains for us to say a few words at the end of our consideration of the Bill, and to thank you, Mr. O'Hara, and your colleague and co-Chairman, Miss Begg, for the way in which you have conducted the proceedings. I also thank the Clerk and the Staff of the House, who assist us in dealing with the legislation, and Hansard for hanging on to every word and trying to make sense of what we say. I want to thank the Home Office staff for the support that they have given me and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, my hon. Friend the Member for North Swindon (Mr. Wills), and all members of the Committee on both sides for the way in which they have dealt with matters.
One of the highlights of the Committee was that the fact there was time for only one outburst from the hon. Member for Henley. It is a shame that he did not return earlier from his break in India, as we might have had more demonstrations of his intellect imposed on us, as is his usual style.
We discovered a little about the past behaviour of the hon. Member for Torridge and West Devon with his brawling abroad with the Royal Navy, or was he merely condoning the brawls with the Royal Navy during the Trafalgar cup many years ago?
The ultimate highlight was the disclosure of the secret discussions that take place between my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster, North (Mr. Hughes) and certain Members on the Opposition Front Bench, the taxis travelling across London and all the serious ramifications that that has for all hon. Members.
I have enjoyed the proceedings and, on balance, am glad that they were shorter than the proceedings of the Committee that considered the Proceeds of Crime Bill. That Committee certainly was a one-off. We have attempted to expose all the issues, and I hope that we will be able to report the Bill to the House for further consideration.