I enjoyed Keir Starmer's lecture last night, and not just because he quoted recent comments by a "well-respected legal commentator".

And I do not share the view that he is dabbling in politics: as he said, it is his "element of impartiality, of independence, of non-alignment with any vested interest that provides the public prosecutor with the strength to take difficult decisions"

All I would say is that he may be unnecessarily concerned about what an incoming Conservative government would do. I have analysed the Tories' plans in my column for the next print edition of Standpoint, out shortly.

Dominic Grieve MP, the shadow Justice Secretary/Lord Chancellor, may talk tough. But the reality is that nothing will change for four or five years and, I predict, not much will change after that.