Written evidence to be reported to the House
Counter-Terrorism Bill
4:00 pm
Dominic Grieve (Shadow Attorney General, Law Officers; Beaconsfield, Conservative)
Good afternoon. May I turn first to the issue of post-charge questioning? I notice, Sir Ken, that when you gave evidence before the Home Affairs Committee back in November, there was a general agreement on the desirability of post-charge questioning, but you highlighted the issue of safeguards on how it operates. If one looks at the Bill, one sees that there is no judicial authorisation for post-charge questioning. Although it is suggested that there should be amendments to a new PACE code—we obviously do not have that at the moment—in order to regulate it, no judicial element is introduced. From your point of view as prosecutors, do you think that that is a satisfactory state of affairs? Would it be better if there were a degree of judicial authorisation to ensure that there are not subsequent arguments in court about whether behaviour has been oppressive in any way to those who are being interviewed, over what could of course be a prolonged period between charge and trial?