§ Mr. WilsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he has taken to satisfy himself that the interests of youths named in the Crown Office indictment against Neil Duncan and others have been adequately safeguarded; and if he will make a statement.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonNone. My noble and learned Friend, the Lord Advocate, has the universal and exclusive title to prosecute on indictment in the public interest.
§ Mr. WilsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the role of the Crown Office in the case of the Crownv. Neil Duncan and others.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe role of the Crown Office in this case did not differ from its role in any other proceedings on indictment.
§ Mr. WilsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the cost to the Exchequer of Crown Office time in preparing the indictment against Neil Duncan and others.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe cost has been calculated as about £225.
§ Mr. WilsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he has taken to satisfy hmself that it was necessary for the Crown Office to name youths who were unconnected to the charges with which the Crown eventually proceeded, in the indictment against Neil Duncan and others.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonNone. The indictments were drafted in accordance with the rules of criminal procedure in Scotland without challenge.
§ Mr. WilsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the cost to the Exchequer of legal aid in the case of the Crown v. Neil Duncan and others, including the sums paid in respect of defendants whose pleas of not guilty were accepted by the Crown.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThis information will not be available until the solicitors' accounts are received by the Scottish Legal Aid Board.