Contributions
21 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDFinancial Provision on DivorceMy Lords, I am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Deech, for this debate. I feel humbled to follow the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Butler-Sloss. I have spoken on many…10 Nov 2025HANSARDFinancial Provision on DivorceCan I just finish quickly then? The president has announced that financial remedies are being taken out of the list, because there is no time to deal with them. The courts are…10 Nov 2025HANSARDFinancial Provision on DivorceI am sorry to interrupt the Minister. To what extent does a prenuptial agreement influence the protection of children? We cannot legislate in a prenup any rights in relation to…10 Nov 2025HANSARDPrenuptial AgreementsMy Lords, it is a great pleasure and a privilege to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Deech, in this debate. I thank her very much for bringing it to the House’s attention. First, I…27 Feb 2025HANSARDNuptial AgreementsTo ask His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to introduce the draft Nuptial Agreements Bill, as drafted and recommended by the Law Commission in its Matrimonial Property,…25 Apr 2023HANSARDNuptial AgreementsMy Lords, I am disappointed but not surprised by that response. I declare my interest as practising in this field. It is well known that this is stand-alone legislation which came…25 Apr 2023HANSARDDivorce: Financial ProvisionMy Lords, I declare my interest as a practitioner in this field for 40 years. The law is hopelessly out of date: it relies entirely on finance and the discretion of judges. The…08 Mar 2023HANSARDHer Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth IIMy Lords, having read and listened to the many and various tributes to our beloved Queen and her exemplary life and selfless service to this country, the Commonwealth and the…10 Sept 2022HANSARDNo-fault DivorceMy Lords, I speak as a foot soldier operating under the current system. I would like to explore with the Minister the redundancy of the current legislation, which is now 40 years…15 Mar 2022HANSARDNo-fault DivorceI would like my noble friend the Minister to be nailed down to a timetable, and I would like to know what that is because—I was going to build up to the question—we are fully…15 Mar 2022HANSARDNationality and Borders BillMy Lords, I rise to speak in favour of Amendment 64A, tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Neuberger, in relation to the testing of children who may or may not be of the correct…08 Mar 2022HANSARDNationality and Borders BillMy Lords, I speak not only on my own behalf but on behalf of my noble friend Lady Altmann, who has had to leave the Chamber due to the illness of one of her children. I sat on the…08 Mar 2022HANSARDImmigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) BillMy Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Oates, for tabling this amendment and give him my support. It is with a heavy heart that I do so, against my Government—my party. I sat on…05 Oct 2020HANSARDPrivate International Law (Implementation of Agreements) Bill [HL]My Lords, I put my name down to speak in this debate, not about what the Bill addresses but about what it fails to address. In the field in which I operate—matrimonial law—many…17 Mar 2020HANSARDDivorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill [HL]My Lords, I support what the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Butler-Sloss, said. Although I have absolute sympathy with the well-intentioned objectives of my noble friend Lord…17 Mar 2020HANSARDDivorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill [HL]My Lords, I wish to speak against the amendment. There is a practicality that is overlooked here, and that is the question of living separate and apart. It is not feasible…17 Mar 2020HANSARDDivorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill [HL]To answer the question on the problem about service, this is regularly done when somebody is trying to evade service. You can go to the court and ask for an order for deemed…17 Mar 2020HANSARDDivorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill [HL]My Lords, I rise to support the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Butler-Sloss. I have been doing this work for 40 years. If the amendment is successful, people will file quicker:…03 Mar 2020HANSARDDivorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill [HL]Some of the damage could be avoided by proper education before people have children, to avoid the distress of having children with the wrong person. There is very little education…03 Mar 2020HANSARDDivorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill [HL]This is not about the finances. When the noble and learned Lord, Lord Mackay, brought in the Children Act, it took away the stigma of custody. That Act as been a godsend to all of…03 Mar 2020