§ 43. Mr. Stonehouseasked the Attorney-General what is the ascertainable cost to public funds to date of his attempt to stop the publication of the Crossman Diaries, Volume One; and when he expects to be able to make a statement on the total cost to public funds.
§ The Attorney-GeneralI regret that the cost to public funds is not yet available as the parties' bills of costs have not yet been completed. I cannot say when the total cost will be known.
§ Mr. StonehouseIs not this action among very many steps that the Attorney-General has personally authorised and that have been shown to be ill-advised 25 and wrongly based? Will he give an undertaking that he will not take any more proceedings to stop further volumes of the Crossman Diaries, and will he make a statement as soon as these costs are known?
§ The Attorney-GeneralWhen the costs are known, I shall be prepared to state them.
I do not agree with what the right hon. Gentleman put to me. The basic principle that I was seeking to achieve was achieved and the Radcliffe Committee has commented upon that. I am bound to add—although I am not criticising in any way the judgment of the Lord Chief Justice—that if the Lord Chief Justice had taken the 15-year period that Radcliffe has taken, the action would have succeeded in toto instead of, as now, merely establishing the principle for which I was contending.
§ Mr. RidleyIs the Attorney-General aware, however, that it is very easy to make prosecutions left, right and centre if it is taxpayers' funds that are paying the costs? Will he try to think up some scheme of passing the hat around the Cabinet to make at least some token reimbursement to taxpapers for the expenses that they are continually having to incur on behalf of the present Government who make all these silly decisions?
§ The Attorney-GeneralI cannot agree with the premises and therefore the question does not arise.