HL Deb 05 July 1995 vol 565 cc1164-5

10 After Clause 16, insert the following clause:

Admissibility of prior statements of witnesses

'.—(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, where a witness gives evidence in criminal proceedings, any prior statement made by the witness shall be admissible as evidence of any matter stated in it of which direct oral evidence by him would be admissible if given in the course of those proceedings.

(2) A prior statement shall not be admissible under this section unless—

  1. (a) the statement is contained in a document;
  2. (b) the witness, in the course of giving evidence, indicates that the statement was made by him and that he adopts it as his evidence; and
  3. (c) at the time the statement was made, the person who made it would have been a competent witness in the proceedings.

(3) For the purposes of this section, any reference to a prior statement is a reference to a prior statement which, but for the provisions of this section, would not be admissible as evidence of any matter stated in it.

(4) Subsections (2) and (3) above do not apply to a prior statement—

  1. (a) contained in a precognition on oath; or
  2. (b) made in other proceedings, whether criminal or civil and whether taking place in the United Kingdom or elsewhere,
and, for the purposes of this section, any such statement shall not be admissible unless it is sufficiently authenticated.'.

Lord Rodger of Earlsferry

I beg to move that the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 10.

I shall speak also to Amendments Nos. 11 and 12. These amendments are consequential upon Amendment No. 9. They are of course important in themselves, but, nonetheless, they are matters which follow on and carry out the principles embodied in Amendment No. 9.

Moved, That the House do agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 10.—(Lord Rodger of Earlsferry.)