On 29 June 2007, Lord Lester was appointed by Prime Minister Gordon Brown as a special advisor on constitutional reform to the Secretary of State for Justice.

It was introduced as a private members bill into the House of Lords by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on the 16 November 2006.

Unusually, although this was a private members bill, almost the entire contents of the bill was replaced by Government amendments in the Grand Committee, with the support of Lord Lester.

Human Rights Law and Practice (general editor with Lord Lester of Herne Hill QC, Butterworths, October 1999, second edition March 2004)

"If it's a standard, simple-use card, I don't have any objections," said Lord Lester, a human rights lawyer and member of the House of Lords.

Between 2002-03 he was Parliamentary Research Officer to Lord Lester of Herne Hill at the Odysseus Trust.

In the House of Lords, however, Lord Lester took issue with the idea of likening violence between adults to parents hitting children.

Lord Lester said these controversial amendments to the Bill would damage free speech and break European human rights laws.

Lord Lester said this form of "prior restraint" was only used in a handful of former Soviet states, to introduce "a form of coercion I have not seen in any democratic country".

"Well, goodness, we most definitely don't wish to offend Lord Lester."