Unimar: DPP's Conclusions (Hansard, 2 March 1987)

Lord Bruce of Donington
My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper.

§ The Lord Chancellor (Lord Hailsham of Saint Marylebone)
My Lords, after consulting the Attorney-General, the Director of Public Prosecutions has concluded that the prospects of a successful prosecution resulting from further investigation of the Unimar affair, which was the subject of the interim report, are not such as to justify diversion of resources from the efforts now being made to bring the main PCW Underwriting Agencies Ltd. investigation to a conclusion. Police inquiries are continuing into the affairs of Peter Cameron-Webb, Peter Dixon, Minet Holdings and WMD Underwriting Agencies Ltd.
It is unlikely that any criminal charges will be brought in respect of breach of exchange control regulations.

Lord Bruce of Donington
My Lords, is the noble and learned Lord aware that his Answer will bring with it some sense of dissatisfaction? Is he further aware that nearly a year has elapsed since publication of the report to which I have referred? Is he also aware that a wide section of the City, let alone the general public, expected rather more vigorous and speedy action to be taken on what appears to be a prima facie case to answer?

§ The Lord Chancellor
My Lords, I must reiterate what I have said to the House on previous occasions; namely, that Questions in this House are directed to Her Majesty's Government and that the prosecution or non-prosecution of offences is not a matter for which Her Majesty's Government, as such, have responsibility.
With regard to whether or not there is a prima facie case, I am advised that the information is as given in my original Answer. The noble Lord will perhaps be pleased to hear that the figures for fraud prosecutions in 1985 and 1986 show substantial improvements both in the numbers of frauds brought to trial and in the conviction rate. These improvements have largely derived from the working methods of the fraud investigation group and from increases in the resources applied to fraud investigations. I am advised that further improvements can be expected when the Serious Fraud Office proposed in the Criminal Justice Bill takes over responsibility for the investigation and prosecution of major frauds.
Without seeking to make any political point, I am sure that we can count on the noble Lord's support for the action that we propose to take under that Bill.

Lord Morris
My Lords, does my noble and learned friend not agree that in the interests of justice it is of the greatest importance that the media's view on the criterion for a prima facie case should be of as high a standard as the law's view on what is or is not a prima facie case?

§ The Lord Chancellor
My Lords, I do not know what the view of the media may be on what constitutes a prima facie case. Although I have a fairly shrewd idea of what lawyers would say I have not investigated this case myself and should not like to express a view about it. However, I understand that the Director has concluded that the prospects of a successful prosecution resulting from further investigation by the police of this subsidiary matter are not such as to justify diversion from the effort now being made to bring the main PCW investigation to a successful conclusion.
In order to show the kind of resources involved in these cases, the House will perhaps be interested to learn of a fact which, I must say, surprised me when I read it this morning. In the civil proceedings arising out of one of these cases, the defendants engaged 15 solicitors, working full time in-house, and no fewer than 30 counsel were briefed. That shows the kind of work that is involved. We do not yet have anything like those numbers at our disposal.

Lord Bruce of Donington
Is the noble and learned Lord aware that I am acutely conscious of his illustra 440 tion that apparently those who have very adequate funds, however they are derived, can sometimes frustrate justice and that there is sometimes one law for the poor and one for the rich? Nevertheless, is the noble and learned Lord aware that we fully support the recent actions that have been taken to reinforce the Fraud Squad? That is a course of action which your Lordships will recall I have been advocating for a number of years.

§ The Lord Chancellor
My Lords, no one welcomes the noble Lord's support more than I do. Perhaps he will accept my assurance on behalf of my colleagues that no one is more eager to bring fraudsters to trial and conviction where guilty than are members of Her Majesty's Government. I believe, as regards the subject matter of the original Question, that there was considerable difficulty in acquiring information from sources in Switzerland.