Clause 62
Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill
3:45 pm
Harry Cohen (Leyton and Wanstead, Labour)
The clause deals with compensation, and I should like to make a few points on it. It will reduce the limitation period for compensation for miscarriages of justice to two years and impose an upper cost limit. I have some concerns about those measures.
A Ministry of Justice press release equated compensation for the victims of miscarriages of justice to compensation for victims of crime, as though they were comparable or set against one another. However, in reality, there are significant differences between the two. A victim of crime should receive proper compensation, but the person who did it should bear the cost. The state bears the cost, through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, but civil action can be taken against perpetrators of crime, who may end up paying damages. The state deals with miscarriages of justice, which is completely different. By the way, the assertion in the press release was that if we reduce the amount given to the victims of miscarriages of justice, we could increase the amount given to victims of crime, which is not the case. Without actually saying so, the press release implied that the victims of miscarriages of justice are unworthy and that they are almost the criminals.