Schedule 4 - Qualifying offences for purposes of part 10
Criminal Justice Bill
4:15 pm
Lady Lady Hermon (North Down, UUP)
I will deal with the point raised about narrowing the list of offences in schedule 4 and adding gang rape. Something as controversial as gang rape, murder, genocide or any such high-profile case will attract an enormous amount of publicity at the outset. When an application is made to the Court of Appeal, it has to be based on the first criterion in the interests of justice under clause 66, and the court must be persuaded that it is likely that a fair trial will follow. Given that there will be so much publicity at the first trial, how in heaven's name can the hon. Gentleman be convinced that the Court of Appeal will be able to make the clause workable?