§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Scotland why it took from 1977, when Dr. Clift, the Home Office forensic scientist, was supended from duty, to 1981 before the case of Mr. John Preece was reopened.
§ Mr. YoungerI have little to add to my reply to the right hon. Member on 1 July 1981.—[Vol. 7, c. 405.] Until receipt of Miss Pereira's report on the evidence given by Dr. Clift in the trial of Mr. John Preece, there were no sufficient grounds for a reference back to the High Court of Justiciary. That report was received in March 1980 together with a conflicting report by one of Mess Pereira's senior colleagues. The case was subsequently reviewed in the light of these reports. This full and detailed review of all the evidence offered in, and the circumstances surrounding, Mr. Preece's trial was undertaken by my Department in consultation with legal advisers and with the Crown Office. In the light of that review, the whole matter was referred to the High Court on 17 February 1981.