Affable but firm - Pursuing a
constructive dialogue with government.
Bob Neil explains his parliamentary role as the newly
elected chairman of the Justice Select Committee
An interview with Bob Neill MP, Chairman of the
Justice Select Committee by Phillip Taylor MBE of
Richmond Green Chambers
I
t is probably non-practising barrister Norman St John
Stevas MP (Baron St John of Fawsley) who has a lot to
answer for the new system of select committees… or
does he?
Some readers will probably have no idea who I am talking
about here but it was the flamboyant Norman who devised
and reformed the modern scrutiny structure to safeguard
Parliamentary business with the creation of our current
select committee system which appears to be particularly
popular with the public and the media through its television
broadcasts.
And this is where Bob Neill comes in as the current elected
chairman of the relatively new ‘Justice Select Committee’
or ‘Justice Committee’ as it is known. It covers the work of
the Ministry of Justice which was created from its previous
incarnation, the Department for Constitutional Affairs.
Bob Neill has been a colleague of mine in Tory politics and
as a practising barrister at the Bar for over 30 years so I
was delighted when he agreed to talk about his current
parliamentary work… and on a day when the Justice
Secretary announced the termination of the ‘Saudi courts
contract’ so the Commons Central lobby was really buzzing
as we got down to business.
Bob Neill comes to the post as a highly experienced
Westminster politician coming with a successful background
in local government, holding high office in the voluntary side
of the Conservative Party, and as highly experienced junior
Counsel who practised for many years at the Criminal Bar.
So he knows what we have to put up with in court when the
politicians keep telling us what to do!
Amiable Personality
It is these two facets of expertise plus Bob’s amiable
personality which make him such a valuable friend to the
public on justice matters, when he variously describes his
role and that if the committee as “constructively critical”
with the aim of “bringing to account and scrutinizing the
Ministry of Justice and the government’s law officers”.
So what does the JC do?
The Justice Committee is appointed by the House of
Commons to examine the expenditure, administration and
policy of the Ministry of Justice and associated public bodies,
including the work of staff provided for the administrative
work of courts and tribunals.
The JC has a website which Bob recognizes does need a bit
of an update but it gives us a useful insight into the work of
the committee for those (m