§ Mr. Whitakerasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the present average time spent awaiting trial at the' Old Bailey compared With recent previous years; and what is the longest time a person who was subsequently acquitted spent in custody awaiting trial in recent years.
§ Mr. TaverneThe latest available figures are for the first six months of 1967, when the average was 94 days, compared with 63 days in 1966 and 42 days in 1965. The longest time that a person who was subsequently acquited spent in custody awaiting trial at the Central Criminal Court in recent years was seven months, but that was a case in which the accused was already serving a sentence of Borstal training passed by another court.