HC Deb 31 October 1984 vol 65 cc1292-5
23. Lord James Douglas-Hamilton

asked the Solicitor-General for Scotland how many prosecutions have been made in the current year arising out of assaults or breaches of the peace committed during the course of industrial disputes.

26. Mr. Hirst

asked the Solicitor-General for Scotland how many people have now been reported to procurators fiscal in connection with incidents arising from the miners' strike; how many have been charged with an offence; how many of those cases have been decided by the courts and how many remain to be so decided; and how many of those reported to procurators fiscal have a permanent address outside Scotland.

28. Mr. Willie W. Hamilton

asked the Solicitor-General for Scotland what is the latest figure for the number arrested as a result of the miners' strike; how many have been charged; how many have been tried and convicted; and how many currently await trial.

The Solicitor-General for Scotland (Mr. Peter Fraser)

As of 26 October 1984, 1,320 persons have been arrested and charged with offences arising out of the miners' strike. To date, procurators fiscal have taken proceedings against 816 persons of whom 160 have been convicted and 48 acquitted by the courts. In 608 cases the accused has either pleaded not guilty and a trial diet has been fixed or the accused has still to appear in court to answer to a citation. I intend to publish more detailed information in the Official Report giving details of the nature of the charges and the domicile of the accused.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton

Is it not a fact that the vast majority of convictions have been for specific offences under the laws of Scotland, which have been in existence for a great many years?

The Solicitor-General for Scotland

The more detailed information, which I have said that I shall publish in the Official Report, shows that the vast majority of charges were for breaches of the peace or arose in relation to obstruction of the police under section 41 of the Police (Scotland) Act 1967.

Mr. Hirst

I thank my hon. and learned Friend for his reply. Will he confirm that a not insignificant number of people who have been charged with offences arising out of violence on the picket line have permanent addresses outside Scotland? Does my hon. and learned Friend agree with me that that type of behaviour has no place in industrial relations in Scotland? Will he say that it is deplorable that the NUM has had to ship in to Scotland marauding thugs to sustain its strike in the Scottish coalfields?

The Solicitor-General for Scotland

The best figures that I can give to my hon. Friend are that of the 1,300 people who have been charged, 72 have domiciles of citation out of Scotland. Those are definite figures, but my information is that the number may be higher. I do not anticipate that it would be much more. That is, nevertheless, a significant number of those who have been charged and are to be brought before the courts.

Mr. Willie W. Hamilton

Since this strike is likely to continue for some time, what provision is the Scottish Office making to bring more expeditiously to court the people who have been charged and are awaiting trial? How many of those charged were miners before the strike and how many were not?

The Solicitor-General for Scotland

I do not have a precise answer on the hon. Gentleman's last point, but I know that a number of the people charged were certainly not employed as miners before the strike began. If the hon. Gentleman wishes me to obtain the information, I shall do what I can. Although we are doing what we can to ensure that these cases are brought to court as quickly as possible, in a number of cases people have not been brought to court because of reasons advanced by the defence. Unfortunately, there has been some delay to accommodate those people and to ensure that opportunities for fair trial are given. Those of us involved in prosecutions certainly do not want a delay.

Mr. Dewar

Will the Solicitor-General confirm that he accepts that offences that arise from the picket line should be dealt with on conviction on the basis of the seriousness of the offence and the personal circumstances of the accused? I raise that matter because there have been occasions when speeches, particularly by the Home Secretary, have suggested that he sees the courts in some way an extension of the Government's political campaign against the miners. Will the Solicitor-General study the administration of legal aid, because evidence is coming from solicitors that there are wide differences of approach within sheriffdoms in Scotland on the granting of legal aid for picket line offences? Does he accept that if that is proved it would be alarming? Does he accept that the legal aid system should be impartial and operate in exactly the same way in all sheriffdoms and in all parts of the country?

The Solicitor-General for Scotland

I would have to accept that there are discrepancies in the way that legal aid is granted in the sheriff courts. It is something that I know that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland is studying at the moment. I would not accept that those discrepancies arise out of a view that the courts take about the miners' strike. Discrepancies exist, but they are on a more general basis. I can only repeat that where people have been charged in Scotland with offences arising out of the miners' strike, the vast majority of the offences are for breaches of the peace and obstructing the police. In those circumstances, I am sure that the hon. Gentleman appreciates that the sherriffs of Scotland will deal with them on the basis of the cases that come before them, the evidence, the severity of the charge and the circumstances of those individuals accused who are eventually convicted.

Following is the information:

Picket arrests: 14 March–26 October 1984
Numbers
Persons charged with offences and reported to the procurator fiscal *1,228
Persons against whom proceedings taken †816
Persons convicted 160
Persons acquitted ‡48
Persons against whom proceedings outstanding ║608
Accused with a domicile of citation outwith Scotland 72
Offences with which offenders charged:
Breach of the Peace 727
Vandalism 25
Assault 6
Theft 1
Wilful Fireraising 2
Reckless Conduct 1
Contravention of:
S.41, Police (Scotland) Act 1967 600

Numbers
S.3, Bail etc. (Scotland) Act 1980 37
S.1, Prevention of Crime Act 1953 10
S.24(1), Roads (Scotland) Act 1970 11
S.7, Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act 1875 110
* This figure is less than the total provided by chief constables for the number of persons arrested during the present dispute. Not all of those arrested will have been reported to procurators fiscal. In addition, a person arrested by the police on more than one occasion will appear more than once in the chief constable's total.
† Including both solemn and summary proceedings. In a number of other cases (109) a decision has still to be taken on whether proceedings should be instituted.
‡ This figure encompasses cases where the accused was acquitted after trial and those cases where the prosecution accepted a plea of not guilty after proceedings had been commenced or deserted the proceedings.
║ Including outstanding trial diets and those cases where the accused has still to appear in court to answer a citation.
This figure is incomplete as figures were not available for all districts.