§ 30. Mr. CongdonTo ask the Attorney-General what contribution has been made by the Crown prosecution service and the Serious Fraud Office through the use of information technology for the better presentation of cases to juries.
§ The Solicitor-General (Sir Derek Spencer)Information technology has been used in a number of factually complex fraud cases to speed up the presentation of evidence and to illustrate it in a clearer and more understandable form.
§ Mr. CongdonI thank my hon. and learned Friend for that helpful reply. Do the initial findings show that juries have found this information technology useful?
§ The Solicitor-GeneralIndependent consultants who have been spoken to by the Crown prosecution service confirm that juries have found information technology of great assistance in following the details of cases. It has been used with success in the Barlow Clowes and Eagle Trust cases and it is currently being used in the Nissan prosecution. Its graphics are very good and it is good for showing invoice and payment trails and information of that sort.
§ Mr. MillerI am sure that the whole House will welcome any improvements in the Crown prosecution service, given the difficulties that it faces. Can the Minister confirm whether information technology is being used by the CPS more locally to investigate whether there are connections between complaints raised with the service, even though those complaints may seem small—because collectively they may amount to a large complaint about a person or organisation? I am being careful in my choice of words because I am referring to a particular case, but is the Minister aware of such use of information technology; if not, will he encourage the service to use it?
§ The Solicitor-GeneralYes, information technology is used in out-of-court inquiries as well as in the presentation of evidence in court. When pursuing inquiries it is useful to bring together a wide range of information to see what factors there are in common.