Royal Prerogative Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Exiting the European Union
Lord Lester of Herne Hill
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(8 years, 4 months ago)
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Lord Lester of Herne Hill (LD)
My Lords, going back to the original Question, does the Minister agree with the right honourable David Cameron, who just over 10 years ago said that “the time had come” to re-examine whether it was right for a British Prime Minister to use ancient powers ceded by the monarch to declare war and sign treaties without formally consulting elected MPs. He went on:
“Giving Parliament a greater role in the exercise of these powers … would be an important and tangible way of making government more accountable”.
Do the Minister and his colleagues agree with their former leader in that respect?
Lord Bridges of Headley
The noble Lord will be aware that the Government considered this matter. I defer to the number of noble Lords in this House who have considerable legal experience in this area. The Government considered this issue. On 18 April this year, my right honourable friend the Defence Secretary published a Written Ministerial Statement looking into this and reflecting that the action that the noble Lord refers to was not required and not necessary.