Clause 36
Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill
9:30 am
Edward Garnier (Shadow Minister, Justice; Harborough, Conservative)
I beg to move amendment No. 154, in clause 36, page 26, line 2, at end add—
‘(8) A report published by the Commissioner, whether or not published with the consent of a complainant or his personal representatives, and a fair and accurate report published by another person of any such report if published contemporaneously, are for the purposes of the law of defamation published on an occasion of absolute privilege.’.
In clause 36, the commissioner is given permission, or required, to make reports to various people, including the Secretary of State and
“the controlling authority appearing to the Commissioner to have the most direct responsibility over the matters covered by the investigation”,
which might be, returning to our previous discussion, the police authority, the relevant prison governor—