§ Mr. LivingstoneTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will now refer the conviction of Mr. Colin Wallace for the manslaughter of Jonathan Lewis to the Court of Appeal for review.
§ Mr. JackMy right hon. and learned Friend has the power under section 17(1)(a) of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 to refer a conviction to the Court of Appeal; but he would normally do so only if presented with new evidence or a consideration of substance which had not been before the courts and which appeared to cast doubt on the safety of the conviction. Since my right hon. Friend the Member for Oxford, West and Abingdon (Mr. Patten) wrote to the hon. Member on 30 June 1990, no representations claiming to have identified such evidence or other consideration of substance has been made to the Home Office.