Clause 5 - Duty of Director of Public Prosecutions to refer certain matters to Police Ombudsman
Justice (Northern Ireland) Bill [Lords]
9:45 am
Mr John Spellar (Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office; Warley, Labour)
Looking at paragraph 4.129, which is the lead-in to the paragraphs that the right hon. Gentleman quotes, puts into context the question whether an investigation should follow the Scottish principle where, at an early stage, a prosecuting officer is responsible. It was obviously suggested to the review that it should consider the Scottish system, which is similar to, or a variation of, the French system. The review says that investigations should be the responsibility of the police, which is much more akin to the traditional British system. That is the context within which the recommendations should be read.