§ Lord Harris of Greenwich asked Her Majesty's Government:
§ What procedural changes the army board proposes to make when considering complaints under the Race Relations Act 1976 following the judgment of the Divisional Court in the case of Regina v. Army Board of Defence Council, ex parte Anderson.
§ Lord ReayMy Lords, the Government are considering in detail what procedural changes are necessary in the light of the judgment.
§ Lord Harris of GreenwichMy Lords, I thank the noble Lord for that Answer. Does he agree that it is absolutely essential that the Ministry of Defence should do its best to ensure that young blacks serving in the army are treated with fairness? Is he aware that many of us are seriously concerned about the case?
I wish to ask two questions. First, did the Ministry of Defence army board receive legal advice before deciding how to handle the case? Secondly, is it not a matter of serious concern that Mr. Anderson and his representatives were not shown the information which was available to the army board? Is it not worrying that the army board decided, for reasons best known to itself, to adopt a policy of inflexibly refusing to accept oral hearings in such cases? Can the noble Lord assure us that the case will be dealt with expeditiously so that matters are put right?
§ Lord ReayMy Lords, I accept entirely the noble Lord's first remarks. It is essential that black soldiers should be treated fairly. In this case, the court found a number of faults in the procedures of the army board. In the reconsideration of the case, procedures will be applied which are consistent with the judgment given. Changes in procedure for any future cases are under consideration. I was asked a specific question concerning legal advice. Legal advice was provided as the case worked its way up the command chain.
§ Lord Williams of ElvelMy Lords, is it the case that, as Lord Justice Taylor reported, the army board not only refused to accept oral evidence, as the noble Lord, Lord Harris, said, but did not meet on this occasion? If so, are there not serious implications in the procedures of the army board which the Government need to address?
§ Lord ReayMy Lords, that is correct. It is one of the criticisms made of the procedure that the members of the army board did not meet. The intention now is to set up the board of inquiry as quickly as possible. 960 It will conduct a very thorough investigation into all the facts and the different army board members will meet to reconsider the case.