The Senior Deputy Speaker
That Lord Ricketts be appointed a member of the Select Committee, in place of the Earl of Kinnoull; and that Lord Ricketts be appointed chair of the Select Committee.
Lord Hamilton of Epsom (Con)
I will comment on the appointment of the noble Lord, Lord Ricketts, as the chairman of the European Affairs Committee. I think that we now accept that we have left the EU, and there is no political party suggesting that we should rejoin it. Therefore, can it be right that the noble Lord, Lord Ricketts, has been made chairman of the European Affairs Committee, when he is adamant that it was a great mistake that we ever left and that the people of this country were wrong to have voted that way in the referendum?
Lord Cormack (Con)
My Lords, I strongly disagree with my noble friend. We are out, and many of us regret the fact that we are out. However, what we need for our committees are people with knowledge and distinction, and no one has wider knowledge and distinction in the field of foreign affairs than the noble Lord, Lord Ricketts. What is more, he sits on the Cross Benches, so it seems to me that, having had an extremely fine chairman in the noble Earl, Lord Kinnoull, it is a very good idea to follow him with another Cross-Bencher, who will bring dispassionate advice and deep knowledge.