HC Deb 26 February 1973 vol 851 cc1063-4

43. Mr. Lipton asked the Attorney-General what amendments he now proposes to make to the bankruptcy rules.

The Attorney-General

Amendments now under consideration include provisions for criminal bankruptcy, minor changes in the procedure for taxing bills of costs and in the rules governing public examinations.

Mr. Lipton

Is the right hon. and learned Gentleman aware that we do not want to get bogged down with a lot of side issues? Is he aware that all we want is to provide for the attendance or representation of third parties whose names are mentioned in the course of bankruptcy proceedings? Why cannot he concentrate on that and get that difficulty out of the way as quickly as possible?

The Attorney-General

The hon. Gentleman is a little ungenerous, because he will recollect last summer his criticisms and complaints when applications were made to adjourn these proceedings because criminal proceedings might be under investigation. The rules governing public examinations are difficult. They need considerable examination. What my noble and learned Friend has in mind is that there should be an adjournment of these proceedings, at the discretion of the court, if criminal proceedings either have been or are likely to be brought. He also has under consideration the provision of the power to exclude all irrelevant or scandalous matter and ensuring that such matter should be excluded from the record.

Sir Elwyn Jones

Will the Attorney-General in the meantime stress the importance of meticulous accuracy of Press reporting of bankruptcy proceedings, be- cause it seems to be the case that some of the mischief which has arisen out of recent events may be attributed to bad reporting?

The Attorney-General

This is, of course, a matter for those who are present in court, who do, I agree, have a very considerable responsibility to ensure that accurate reports are given of what actually was said. This is a grave responsibility. The administration of justice depends indeed upon reportting in the Press it is a very important part of the administration of justice, and one expects reports to be accurate.

Mr. Edward Lyons

While appreciating the need for open hearings in matters of public interest, may I ask the Attorney-General to stress the need for both the court and the Press to give equal publicity to subsequent retractions of allegations made previously at such hearings and later found to be false?

The Attorney-General

This is primarily a matter of the sense of fairness of the Press, to set out with equal prominence a retraction or a correction in respect of a matter to which it gave prominence in the first report. The court, I agree, should also draw attention to such matters and do it in such a way that there is more likelihood of prominence being given in the Press report to the retraction.