§ 50. Mr. Greenwayasked the Attorney-General if he will now state what sum was paid in legal aid to Mr. Derry Mainwaring Knight during the so-called Satan trial; and if he will make a statement.
§ The Solicitor-General (Sir Patrick Mayhew)Nothing was paid to Mr. Knight. Payments made under the legal aid scheme in respect of fees, as assessed by officers of the Crown court, are paid direct to individual fee earners. It has been the practice of successive Governments not to publish these.
§ Mr. GreenwayAs Mr. Mainwaring Knight was convicted of conning hundreds of thousands of pounds out of people, was he required to repay the legal aid paid on his behalf for his defence? If not, should he not have been, in view of the great demand upon legal aid funds?
§ The Solicitor-GeneralThe sentence imposed upon Mr. Knight, in addition to seven years' imprisonment, included a fine of £50,000 with two years' imprisonment consecutive in default of payment.
§ Mr. AshbyWhat real efforts are made to investigate the means of people such as Mr. Knight to ascertain what money they really have and so recover legal aid fees?
§ The Solicitor-GeneralAs my hon. Friend knows, there is an investigation into means. The decision whether to grant criminal legal aid has to be made promptly. It is not always possible, of course, to carry out as full an investigation as might be desirable in ideal circumstances. The matter is examined as thoroughly as possible.