He said:The fact that the Labour Governments of 1945–51, with their controversial and heavy legislative programme, managed to live with the House of Lords - not without some trouble, it is true - without reaching any final, "last-ditch" Irremediable Crisis, was an extraordinary achievement.

If we look objectively at almost any aspect of the criminal justice system - every body, every institution - it is impossible to claim other than that almost every pillar of the system is in a state of perhaps Irremediable Crisis.