Clause 17 - Statement of information
Proceeds of Crime Bill
3:30 pm
Mr Nick Hawkins (Surrey Heath, Conservative)
As my hon. Friend was saying that, I looked outside at the weather and recalled an infamous occasion when the situation that he has described happened. I will never forget it. I had to travel, on a cold, wet Thursday in November, from my home in the south-west midlands to the furthest court in what was then the Midland and Oxford circuit, in Skegness. When I arrived, I discovered that the court had failed to notify the defendant that the proceedings were taking place. Everyone's time was wasted, and the most appalling thing of all is that when we returned to Skegness, on an equally wet, cold, depressing Thursday in February, the court issued an absolute discharge to my client. We also received an apology, and we were told that the magistrates in the town were always telling the police not to prosecute for the offence, but they never took any notice. I hope that that anecdote further illustrates my hon. Friend's point.