HC Deb 11 May 1992 vol 207 cc366-7
29. Mr. Brazier

To ask the Attorney-General what representations have been made by the Crown prosecution service, to the Royal Commission on criminal justice, on prosecution appeals against perverse acquittals.

The Solicitor-General (Sir Derek Spencer)

The Crown prosecution service believes that genuinely perverse acquittals are rare. The full text of the service's evidence is in the Library.

Mr. Brazier

I put it to my hon. and learned Friend that no single factor is more inclined to persuade normally law-abiding citizens to take the law into their own hands than the acquittal of someone in suspicious circumstances. The lesson of not only the riots in California but a growing number of instances in this country, including some in my constituency, is that we ought to reconsider instituting a prosecution procedure for reopening cases in suspicious mistrials that result in acquittal.

The Solicitor-General

I am indebted to my hon. Friend for his submission to the Royal Commission on criminal justice. When it reports, no doubt it will make recommendations about that aspect that the House will want to consider.

Mr. Vaz

Does the Solicitor-General agree that one problem attaching to the Crown prosecution service in that regard is that it does not have enough staff? When will additional resources be allocated to the CPS, to enable it to undertake its work effectively?

The Solicitor-General

Those of us who have spent our lifetimes in the courts know full well that the service does a first-rate job.

Mr. Lawrence

I congratulate my hon. and learned Friend on his appointment. Does he agree that the jury system, with all its faults, is still the best yet devised for the protection of the liberties of the individual accused? Does he agree also that an opinion on the perversity of verdicts is normally that of the losing party and that any attempt to reverse a jury's acquittal decision would represent substantial interference in the principle of the jury system and be thoroughly unwise?

The Solicitor-General

Jury verdicts that individuals regard as oppressive are verdicts that other parties find entirely to their approval.