§ Mr. Georgeasked the Attorney-General, of those appearing in Crown courts in 1972, 1973 and 1974 who pleaded not guilty, how many were (a) convicted by a majority verdict, (b) acquitted by the jury after trial, and (c) acquitted either because the prosecution offered no evidence or because the judge directed that such a verdict be returned.
§ The Attorney-GeneralThe information is not available in respect of 1972. In 1973, 859 defendants were convicted in the Crown court by a majority verdict and in 1974, 680. In 1973, 10,493 defendants were acquitted by a jury, in 1974 10,864. The total number of such defendants acquitted on a judge's direction or because496W the prosecution offered no evidence is not available.