Former senior judges to give evidence to Lords committee on UK’s constitutional safeguards

Tomorrow, the House of Lords Constitution Committee will be speaking with two panels of witnesses as it continues its inquiry into the UK's constitutional safeguards. 

The first session will be with former senior judges and chairs of public inquiries. The second session will be with the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. 

Giving evidence at 10:30am will be:

• Sir Brian Langstaff, former senior judge, president of the Employment Appeal Tribunal and chair of the Infected Blood Inquiry  

• Sir John Saunders, former senior judge, and chair of the Manchester Arena Inquiry 

Themes the session will cover include: 

• Whether public inquiries play a constitutional role and are an appropriate mechanism for holding government to account; 

• Whether integrity and standards are improving or declining in public service; 

• How important public trust is to our constitutional democracy; 

• The constitutional role of the judiciary and whether this has changed in recent years, including whether it is under threat; 

• Any weaknesses that could be exploited by a government seeking to evade judicial scrutiny. 

Giving evidence at 11:30am will be: 

• Daniel Greenberg CB, Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards 

Themes the session will cover include: 

• Whether the maintenance of high ethical standards amongst those in public life is important for protecting our constitutional democracy; 

• Whether the parliamentary standards system is a constitutional safeguard; 

• How important standards systems are for maintaining public trust in institutions, including Parliament, and what the role of codes of conduct is in encouraging and enforcing standards of behaviour; 

• How effective Parliament is as a constitutional safeguard, particularly in relation to legislation, when there is a determined government with a majority in the House of Commons; 

• Any significant vulnerabilities in the legislative process both in relation to the drafting and passage of legislation. 

The sessions will take place on Wednesday 4 November and can be followed live on Parliament TV.