Constitution Committee
2 September 2026
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Constitution Committee Actual start House of Lords
17:50 - 19:26
Speaker 1
Welcome to this meeting of the House of Lords Constitution Committee.
Today we are holding the second evidence session of the Committee's new inquiry into the UK's constitutional safeguards, and we're delighted to be joined by Lord O'Donnell, former Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service. Lord O'Donnell, welcome back to the Committee. You are very welcome, and I look forward to hearing what you have to say. I just want to remind members to declare any interests relevant to this inquiry or for today's meeting on the first time they speak. I've no relevant interests of my own to declare.
So we will now begin.
Lord O'Donnell, you held the post a relatively long time ago, which gives you, I think, a good deal of perspective on how it has developed, how governments have worked with cabinet secretaries, including yourself. And our first question is on the threats to the constitution and how you assess how the constitutional safeguards in the UK, how effective they are, and where are their most significant weaknesses and what should we do about them? I know it's a very broad question, but I think different members of the committee will come in at different times to give you time to expand on the subject. Gus.
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