Clause 65 - Assistance by offender: immunity from prosecution
Serious Organised Crime and Police Bill
11:00 am
Mr David Heath (Shadow Minister (Home Affairs), Home Affairs; Somerton and Frome, Liberal Democrat)
The Minister is asking us to take a lot on trust in respect of the guidance that will be issued and the information that will be given later. Had she said that the level of seniority would go no lower than the deputy I would have said, ''Fair enough; I can see circumstances in which it would be appropriate for the deputy DPP and deputies to the other senior prosecutors to take appropriate action.'' However, I still have concerns. I do not suggest that the DPP himself or his equivalent would negotiate the terms of an immunity, but simply that the responsibility for issuing that certificate should lie with the senior prosecutor at the end of the day, because it is a very significant step to take and it should be exercised only at the highest level. I do not intend to press the amendment at this stage, but I hope that the Minister can give further thought to the matter and indicate before Report the level of seniority that she expects to be specified in the guidance to which she referred. Then, I will be able to consider whether we need to explore the matter further. It is, as I think the Minister understands, a matter of some gravity. If it were not for the fact that we often give specific and personal responsibilities to the DPP, I might not be pressing it in this form. However, we do, so I think it not unreasonable that a prepared certificate and the grounds under which it will be issued should be put before the DPP for imprimatur before it is issued.
That seems to be the appropriate way forward, so I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment.
Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.