"He is going to be a lively and challenging Member of this House. Yet he is a man of great seriousness. He talked about poverty, about disasters and about global problems. He brought our hearts and minds to bear upon those in deepest need.

But looking at his background, we should not be surprised at that. He has a background of helping others in the aftermath of one of Britain's worst national tragedies. I refer to his work following the Hillsborough disaster when he was deputy chairman of the Football Trust, rebuilding the nation's confidence following that terrible tragedy.

He also brings wisdom and understanding on our most recent national tragedy, the Paddington railway disaster. He has been an adviser to the British Railways Board and has done much work in that field during the past 20 years .......

We respect him for his knowledge and greatly look forward to his sharing it with us particularly just now on railway safety. He has all our support in that regard."

Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne speaking in response to the maiden speech of Lord Faulkner of Worcester on 15 October 1999