§ 32. Mr. SkinnerTo ask the Attorney-General what re-assessment he is making of the operation of public interest immunity certificates.
§ The Attorney-GeneralPublic interest immunity certificates are one of the subjects under investigation by Lord Justice Scott. The Government will give careful consideration to any conclusions and recommendations in his report.
§ Mr. SkinnerDoes the Attorney-General realise that in asking the House to believe what he told my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Perry Barr (Mr. Rooker) earlier—that the Department has not kept records of the number of people who signed the certificates in the past 10 years—he must be guilty of either a cover-up or incompetence? When the President of the Board of Trade refused to sign the certificate, did not it cross the Attorney-General's mind that he should have told those people who were heading for the court that it was wrong for them to be sent to gaol when he was bending the law on their behalf?
§ The Attorney-GeneralThe hon. Gentleman would do well to wait for my evidence on Thursday.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyWill my right hon. and learned Friend turn his mind to the best guidance on the use of public interest immunity certificates, which is contained in footnotes in a law book in print so small that most people commenting on that, whether in the House or in the press, have not been able to read it? Will he consider whether an enlarged version of what is in the law book could be made available to everyone?
§ The Attorney-GeneralMy hon. Friend is right that the footnotes to the "Supreme Court Practice" are in print suitable for a prayer book. An enlarging photocopier might be of considerable assistance.