§ 3.18 p.m.
§ Lord DenhamMy Lords, with the leave of the House, I should like to say a brief word about the length of speeches in today's debate standing in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Allen of Abbeydale, to which your Lordships have agreed to apply a five-hour time limit. On the principle that the mover is allowed approximately 20 minutes and that the Minister should rise to reply not less than 25 minutes before the scheduled end of the debate, all other speeches should be limited to 12 minutes. If any noble Lord were to speak at greater length he would be doing so at the expense of other speakers in the debate.