asked the Solicitor-General for Scotland when next he plans to meet the president of the Law Society for Scotland to discuss the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill.

My right hon. and learned Friend the Lord Advocate and I have regular contact with the president and secretary of the Law Society of Scotland, either in person or by correspondence. On a number of those occasions aspects of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill have been considered. However, neither my right hon. Friend nor I have any firm date at present to meet the president of the society to discuss the Bill.

When my hon. and learned Friend next meets the president of the Law Society, will he thank the society for the careful work that it has done in scrutinising the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill and for the general welcome that it has afforded to this important measure?

Indeed I will. We are grateful for the careful work that the society has done on the Bill and for the comments that it has made. Its work and comments have been of great assistance to us.

Would it not be a misrepresentation if the Solicitor-General were to thank the Law Society for the general welcome that it has given to the Bill? Is it not a fact that the Law Society, like the Faculty of Advocates and the Glasgow Bar Association—unlike myself—has the strongest possible reservations about the Bill? Those hon. Members who are considering the Bill in Committee who are lawyers should pay more attention to what their colleagues in the legal profession are saying.

No, Sir.