Supreme Court Bill [H.L.] (Hansard, 28 July 1981)

§ The Lord Chancellor (Lord Hailsham of Saint Marylebone)
My Lords, in rising to move that the Commons amendments be now considered I trust the House will permit me to draw attention to the loss which we have all received in the death yesterday of my noble and learned friend Lord Widgery. Only last week he was with us sitting on the Cross-Benches. Only the day before yesterday he was noticed by a neighbour sitting in his garden quietly enjoying its peace and beauty. I had hoped myself that his retirement last year after a heroic struggle with an incurable and progressive and crippling illness would be the prelude to a long and happy retirement in the company of his much loved wife.
John Widgery was a wise, brave, strong, patriotic, compassionate, and above all a profoundly humble man; an ornament to the law; a model of acquired skill and innate talent in the judicial art; a great public servant; an active member of his church; and above all a gentle and affectionate friend. We shall all miss him very much, and our hearts will be with his wife in the sorrow of her bereavement.

§ Lord Elwyn-Jones
My Lords, the House will be grateful to the noble and learned Lord the Lord Chancellor for the tribute that he has rightly paid to the noble and learned Lord, Lord Widgery. He graced the Bench as Lord Chief Justice, as a Lord Justice of Appeal, and High Court judge with the qualities in high degree of fairness, integrity, courtesy, economy and clarity of expression, and above all of sound common sense. The administration of justice in our country owes a very great deal to him. He was indeed, as the noble and learned Lord the Lord Chancellor has said, a great public servant. I owed much to him myself when I was in office. He was sustained in all 657 he did by his devoted wife Ann, to whom we send our sympathy at this sad time.

§ Lord Byers
My Lords, the two noble and learned Lords who have just spoken knew the noble and learned Lord, Lord Widgery, far better than I did, although on many occasions when I met him I must say that I was deeply indebted to him for the friendship which he showed to me. We on these Benches would like to associate ourselves with the very sincere tributes just paid to a very distinguished Lord Chief Justice, in particular for the part that he played in the reorganisation of the court system after the Beeching Report. We send our condolences and our sympathy to Lady Widgery.

§ The Lord Chancellor
My Lords, I have it in command from Her Majesty the Queen to acquaint the House that Her Majesty, having been informed of the purport of the Commons amendments to the Supreme Court Bill, has consented to place Her Prerogative and interest, so far as they are affected by them, at the disposal of Parliament.