And so it came to pass …

I would wholeheartedly agree with my co-editor (not always the case, by any means) about the importance of the 42-day detention issue. But the fact is that scheduling the vote today, on the same day that the Lords vote on the constitutional Lisbon treaty referendum, has meant that the Lords debate has been all but submerged.

It need not have been that way – the timetable could have been arranged differently, so that the Lords vote had been given a fair wind, and attracted some media coverage. And while the scheduling may be a coincidence, it is certainly convenient for both government and opposition benches, all of whom have been anxious to minimise public debate on the EU treaty.

COMMENT THREAD