§ MR. LOUGHI beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether the Government intend to take any steps to prevent such miscarriages of justice as have lately occurred in the cases of Adolf Beck and of Underwood; and whether, having regard to the frequency of cases of hardship in the administration of the criminal law, he would think it desirable to institute inquiries, by the appointment of a Royal Commission or otherwise, into the circumstances under which arrests on suspicion are made, the conditions and periods of detention before trial of prisoners, and the best method of adequately compensating innocent persons wrongfully convicted and imprisoned.
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURThe case of Mr. Adolf Beck has been the subject of exhaustive inquiry by a Committee, presided over by the Master of the Rolls, and in accordance with the recommendations of that committee a Bill has been drafted and introduced in another place to effect a change in the law which, in the opinion of the committee, will prevent miscarriages of justice such as that which occurred in the Beck case. Certain administrative improvements have also been made 731 in accordance with the recommendations of that Committee. Cases of hardship in the administration of the criminal law must occasionally occur; but hardships such as those in the Beck and Underwood cases are so rare that I do not think they call for any further inquiry.
§ SIR ROBERT REID (Dumfries burghs)In connection with the Beck case and the proposals of the Government, will the right hon. Gentleman consider the propriety of establishing a Court of Criminal Appeal in this country, such as exists in other countries?
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURI am not qualified to give an Answer without notice upon a matter of such importance, nor would my opinion be worth much if I gave it; but I have always understood that expert opinion in this country was against a Court of Criminal Appeal.
§ MR. LOUGHWill the right hon. Gentleman order a Return to be given of the cases of hardship brought before the Government in recent years? I think they are very numerous.
§ MR. A. J. BALFOURI hope the hon. Gentleman is mistaken. Perhaps he will put the Question to the Home Office and my right hon. friend will answer it.