9. Motion to agree to the First Minister's recommendation to Her Majesty to appoint a Counsel General

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:55 pm on 14 November 2017.

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Photo of Carwyn Jones Carwyn Jones Labour 4:55, 14 November 2017

Well, there it is. This is the appointment of somebody who is a Member of this Assembly, who is a lawyer, who is somebody who is amply qualified for the job of Counsel General and somebody who will be the chief legal adviser to the Welsh Government. If concerns had been raised beforehand, we would have tried to deal with those concerns, but this is the first that we've heard of them.

Bearing in mind that we are going through Brexit, it is hugely important that we have a chief legal adviser who is able to advise Welsh Government on many issues, particularly Brexit. I'm sure Members wouldn't want us to be in a position where we don't have an adviser who is able to do that.

So, again, I move the motion. Mark Reckless will forgive me for not addressing his direct points, because I agree with every word he said. That might not happen very often, but on this occasion I'm grateful to him for the words that he has said. I regret the fact that what is an appointment of somebody in Government, who is there to act as a legal adviser, has been—. Well, there we are, it's the Assembly's prerogative to deal with it in this way, but, nevertheless, it is absolutely right to say that this, even though technically, even though legally, is an appointment of the Assembly, it is, in effect, the appointment of somebody who will become a member of Government, though not a Minister.