- (a) The Secretary of State shall make regulations to provide for the tape-recording of interviews by police officers with prisoners held in custody at police stations where prisoners are detained.
- (b) Such regulations shall provide inter alia that:
- (i) the whole of the interview shall be tape-recorded and this includes any questioning, cautioning or the taking of any statement whether written by the person or the police officer and any conversation between a police officer and the person preliminary to or consequent on such questioning, cautioning or taking of a statement;
- (ii) the interviews to be tape-recorded shall be those where the person interviewed is reasonably suspected of an offence which is triable on indictment, either way, or one of such offences triable summarily as the regulations shall provide;
- (iii) If an interview may not be tape-recorded because of mechanical failure or because of a suitable interviewing room not being available, the interview should be postponed until such time as the failure has been rectified or room becomes available unless an officer of the rank of at least Chief Inspector not connected with the investigation believes on reasonable grounds that such delay would be impracticable. It shall be the duty of the officer concerned to record the reason for the interview not being tape-recorded;
- (iv) the standard of tapes and recording machines shall include specifications to minimise the risk of interference with a tape;
- (v) one unedited copy of every tape-recording shall be made to be kept, secured and played only by order of a court;
- (vi) the defence shall have access to a copy of an unedited tape on request as of right;
- (vii) at the commencement of any interview the date, time and place will be recorded;
- (viii) forms of recording interviews other than by tape-recording shall not be rendered inadmissible.
- (ix) it shall be an offence for any person, including any police officer or other person charged with the duty of investigation of offences or charging offenders to interfere with the recording of interviews as provided by this section, or to erase, alter, amend, cut, tamper with in any way or destroy any tape-recording of an interview made under the provisions of (v) above.
- (x) "tape-recording" shall include any process for the recording of sound by magnetic tape in a form suitable for reproduction or other process and may additionally include visual recording.'. — [Mr. Snape.]
§ Brought up, and read the First time.
§ Question put, That the clause be read a Second time:—
§ The House divided: Ayes 45, Noes 110.
334| Division No. 143] | [11.20 pm |
| AYES | |
| Beith, A. J. | Dormand, Jack |
| Bennett, Arndrew(St'kp't N) | Dubs, Alfred |
| Brown, Ronald W. (H'ckn'y S) | Freud, Clement |
| Cocks, Rt Hon M. (B'stol S) | George, Bruce |
| Cook, Robin F. | Grimond, Rt Hon J. |
| Cryer, Bob | Harman, Harriet (Peckham) |
| Deakins, Eric | Harrison, Rt Hon Walter |
| Dean, Joseph (Leeds West) | Hattersley, Rt Hon Roy |
| Dewar, Donald | Home Robertson, John |
| Dixon, Donald | Howells, Geraint |
| Hughes, Simon (Bermondsey) | Skinner, Dennis |
| Lawrence, Ivan | Snape, Peter |
| McDonald, Dr Oonagh | Soley, Clive |
| Mikardo, Ian | Spearing, Nigel |
| Millan, Rt Hon Bruce | Steel, Rt Hon David |
| Mitchell, R. C. (Soton Itchen) | Summerskill, Hon Dr Shirley |
| Owen, Rt Hon Dr David | Tilley, John |
| Penhaligon, David | Wainwright, R.(Colne V) |
| Pitt, William Henry | Wigley, Dafydd |
| Powell, Raymond (Ogmore) | Wrigglesworth, Ian |
| Price, C. (Lewisham W) | |
| Richardson, Jo | Tellers for the Ayes: |
| Robertson, George | Mr. James Hamilton and |
| Roper, John | Mr. George Morton |
| Sandelson, Neville | |
| NOES | |
| Alexander, Richard | Mather, Carol |
| Ancram, Michael | Maude, Rt Hon Sir Angus |
| Atkins, Rt Hon H.(S'thorne) | Maxwell-Hyslop, Robin |
| Beaumont-Dark, Anthony | Mayhew, Patrick |
| Benyon, Thomas (A'don) | Mellor, David |
| Berry, Hon Anthony | Meyer, Sir Anthony |
| Best, Keith | Miller, Hal (B'grove) |
| Boscawen, Hon Robert | Moate, Roger |
| Bottomley, Peter (W'wich W) | Morrison, Hon C. (Devizes) |
| Boyson, Dr Rhodes | Murphy, Christopher |
| Bright, Graham | Neale, Gerrard |
| Brinton, Tim | Needham, Richard |
| Brooke, Hon Peter | Neubert, Michael |
| Brown, Michael(Brigg & Sc'n) | Newton, Tony |
| Browne, John (Winchester) | Normanton, Tom |
| Bruce-Gardyne, John | Onslow, Cranley |
| Carlisle, John (Luton West) | Osborn, John |
| Churchill, W. S. | Page, Richard (SW Herts) |
| Clark, Hon A. (Plym'th, S'n) | Patten, Christopher (Bath) |
| Clarke, Kenneth (Rushcliffe) | Proctor, K. Harvey |
| Cope, John | Rathbone, Tim |
| Costain, Sir Albert | Renton, Tim |
| Cranborne, Viscount | Rhys Williams, Sir Brandon |
| Dorrell, Stephen | Rifkind, Malcolm |
| du Cann, Rt Hon Edward | Rossi, Hugh |
| Dunn, Robert (Dartford) | Rumbold, Mrs A. C. R. |
| Edwards, Rt Hon N. (P'broke) | Sainsbury, Hon Timothy |
| Eyre, Reginald | Shaw, Giles (Pudsey) |
| Fookes, Miss Janet | Shepherd, Colin (Hereford) |
| Fox, Marcus | Sims, Roger |
| Goodhart, Sir Philip | Speed, Keith |
| Goodhew, Sir Victor | Speller, Tony |
| Gow, Ian | Sproat, Iain |
| Greenway, Harry | Stanbrook, Ivor |
| Griffiths, Peter (Portsm'th N) | Stevens, Martin |
| Hamilton, Hon A. | Stewart, k.(E Renfrewshire) |
| Hampson, Dr Keith | Taylor, Teddy (S'end E) |
| Hawkins, Sir Paul | Thomas, Rt Hon Peter |
| Heddle, John | Thompson, Donald |
| Hogg, Hon Douglas (Gr'th'm) | Thorne, Neil (Ilford South) |
| Hooson, Tom | Townsend, Cyril D, (B'heath) |
| Howe, Rt Hon Sir Geoffrey | van Straubenzee, Sir W. |
| Hunt, David (Wirral) | Waddington, David |
| Hurd, Rt Hon Douglas | Waldegrave, Hon William |
| Jenkin, Rt Hon Patrick | Waller, Gary |
| Jessel, Toby | Warren, Kenneth |
| Jopling, Rt Hon Michael | Watson, John |
| Lamont, Norman | Wells, John (Maidstone) |
| Lang, Ian | Wheeler, John |
| Lester, Jim (Beeston) | Whitelaw, Rt Hon William |
| Lloyd, Peter (Fareham) | Whitney, Raymond |
| Loveridge, John | Wickenden, Keith |
| Lyell, Nicholas | Wolfson, Mark |
| MacGregor, John | |
| McNair-Wilson, M. (N'bury) | Tellers for the Noes: |
| Major, John | Mr. Alastair Goodlad and |
| Mates, Michael | Mr. Tristan Garel-Jones. |
§ Question accordingly negatived.