§ 3.8 p.m.
§ The Lord Privy Seal (Lord Richard)My Lords, during the very short debate yesterday afternoon on the Motion of the noble Lord, Lord Beloff, I referred to the noble Baroness, Lady Trumpington. I said about her:
I am very fond of the noble Baroness, Lady Trumpington. She is a great lady. I have listened to her with enjoyment and respect. When she gets up she commands the attention of the House".—[Official Report, 16/2/98; col. 28.]What I did not say yesterday afternoon was that the noble Baroness had been a Minister of State. I was dealing with her position when she was a Baroness in Waiting. The fact that she had been a Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food had, I fear, escaped me. It was pointed out to me forcefully afterwards—not least by the noble Baroness, Lady Trumpington, herself. It perhaps underlined the point that I sought to make yesterday afternoon, that governments have always made use of the singular skills of their Lords and Baronesses in Waiting, and they certainly did so in the case of the former Minister of State at MAFF.