§ Mr. ShoreTo ask the Attorney-General how many cases of incitement to racial hatred under the Public Order Act 1986 were referred to him by the Crown Prosecution Service in each year since 1987; how many were not proceeded with(a) through insufficient evidence, (b) because prosecution was judged not to be in the public interest and (c) for other reasons.
The Solicitor-General[pursuant to his reply, 3 December 1993, c. 748]: In each of the years since 1987, the Crown Prosecution Service has referred cases to the Attorney-General asking for consent to prosecute offences contrary to part III of the Public Order Act 1986 in respect of the following numbers of persons:
Numbers 1987 0 1988 3 1989 1 1990 2 1991 8 1992 3 1993 1 Consent to prosecute was withheld twice on evidential grounds and twice on public interest grounds. Proceedings were commenced by the CPS against 13 defendants, and in the final case although consent was originally granted it was later withdrawn on public interest grounds.