§ Mr. JamiesonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he intends to take to ensure that parents who murder their children and refuse to give evidence against each other are brought to justice.
§ Mr. Maclean[holding answer 28 November 19941]: The courts will impose a life sentence on any person convicted of murder. But a court will not convict if there is no evidence to link a particular person to the murder. Nor, in the absence of any other evidence, will a court convict a defendant on the basis of his silence alone. The Royal Commission on Criminal Justice considered the issue of inferences from silence, but did not recommend any changes to the principle against self-incrimination.