§ 44. Mr. R. Robinsonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he will consider, in the interests of justice, where an appeal is pending and the convicted person is detained in custody, so altering the law that sentence shall always run from the date of the original conviction?
§ The Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. Geoffrey Lloyd)I presume that my hon. Friend has in mind cases where the appeal is to the Court of Criminal Appeal. The Criminal Appeal Act specifically provides that the time spent in custody by the appellant shall not count as part of his sentence unless the court otherwise directs, and my right hon. Friend does not think that it would be in the interests of justice to amend the law in the sense suggested.
§ Mr. RobinsonIs my hon. Friend aware that the effect of the present rule is to increase the period of detention where an appeal is unsuccessful, and that the rule is therefore in effect a clog upon the right of appeal?
§ Mr. LloydMy hon. Friend has to remember that cases coming before courts where appeals may arise to the Court of Criminal Appeal have already been judged by a judge and jury, and that the 230 provision of the Act was designed to discourage frivolous appeals. In any case, the court has the right to direct when sentences shall begin.