Clause 4
Fraud (Trials Without a Jury) Bill
4:45 pm
Bob Neill (Bromley and Chislehurst, Conservative)
I am grateful again to the Solicitor-General. That clarifies his position but does not assuage my concern—in fact, it increases it. It might be legitimate for the Government to make changes by another route, but if we are to change the approachto admissibility, that is another reason to have a good deal of time to consider the matter. It would be a substantial departure, and it would be troubling as a matter of principle if there were to be special rules on what can be joined on to an indictment for one class of crime, or indeed the one class of fraud covered by the Bill. I urge the Government to think again about that, and two years would give them time to do so.