§ 7. Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received regarding the law relating to rape; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Roy JenkinsI have received a number of letters from interested organisations and individuals making representations about the decision of the House of 1573 Lords in DPP v. Morgan & Others. As my hon. Friend is aware, this issue is being examined by Mrs. Justice Heilbron's advisory group, whose report I hope to have before the end of this Session.
§ Mr. AshleyIs my right hon. Friend aware that many people appreciate his swift response to the request for an investigation into the law on rape? Will he now assure the House that after the Heilbron Committee has reported, and if he thinks legislation is necessary, he will take action early in the next Session, either by bringing forward a Bill of his own or by supporting an apppropriate Private Member's Bill?
§ Mr. JenkinsWhen I appointed Mrs. Justice Heilbron and the four other members of the advisory group—an action which I think received fairly general support—I asked that they should let me have a report by about mid-autumn. I am now confident of receiving the report by the end of this Session or before the beginning of the next Session. Clearly, I must consider what the report says, but if I had intended to take any delaying action on this matter I would have encouraged the group to share with me some of the delay rather than put the whole of the responsiblity upon myself.
§ Mr. LaneWill the right hon. Gentleman also consider another area of the law in which there may be lessons to be learnt from the case of the Cambridge rapist—namely, the public display of pornographic material and the boom in blue films? Will the right hon. Gentleman confirm that the Government have not ruled out far stricter control in that area during the next Session, along the lines of the previous Conservative Government's Bill?
§ Mr. JenkinsAs I have told the House previously, although I did not by any means entirely dissent from the purpose of the Conservative Government's Bill, I did not think that it stood up in Committee. I think it came apart very badly at the seams.
§ Mr. CarlisleNonsense.
§ Mr. JenkinsThat is clearly a matter of opinion which I would not expect the hon. and learned Member for Runcorn (Mr. Carlisle) to share. It is my opinion put forward with firmness but with due 1574 humility. It is certainly the case that the position in relation to films, although not necessarily arising from exactly the point of view of the hon. Member for Cambridge (Mr. Lane), will emerge in the Law Commission's report on conspiracy, about which there are other Questions on the Order Paper today. I shall bear in mind closely the contents of that report and other considerations.