HL Deb 12 February 2003 vol 644 cc121-2WA
Lord Lester of Herne Hill

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Chancellor on 27 January (WA 127), whether the recommendations made by the Lord Chancellor to Her Majesty the Queen about which advocates in Northern Ireland she should appoint as Queen's Counsel are in practice, if not in form, in accordance with the recommendations made by the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland; and, if not, on how many occasions during the past five years there have been differences between the recommendations made by the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland and the Lord Chancellor respectively. [HL1434]

The Lord Chancellor

There have been two Queen's Counsel competitions in the past five years. On each occasion after careful consideration I agreed with the recommendations made by the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland.