Clause 62 - Cases that may be retried
Criminal Justice Bill
4:00 pm
Mr Simon Hughes (North Southwark and Bermondsey, Liberal Democrat)
I reassure the Labour Whip that I want to ask only one question, which relates directly to the question asked by the hon. and learned Member for Redcar in the previous debate. Did the Government consider the cases in which there had been an omission and, if so, with what consequence? It strikes me that there would be a much greater willingness to retry cases of the sort that we debated in relation to schedule 4, in which prima facie evidence would fall to be reconsidered because of an omission. I do not share the view expressed by the hon. Member for Beaconsfield that someone writing memoirs makes matters any more or less justifiable.
A related question that has not yet been raised, which I hope the hon. Member for Nottingham, East (Mr. Heppell) will accept, is why the Government did not consider an absolute time limit question. In fairness, I am aware that the delay is a factor in a later clause. If the Government did consider such a time limit, why did they reject it?