§ Mr. Leeasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement setting out the circumstances in which acquitted defendants can be expected to pay all or part of the costs of their trials; and if he will review the present state of the law with a view to introducing legislation to restrict further the circumstances under which orders for payment of costs may be made.
§ Dr. Summerskill:An acquitted defendant cannot be ordered to pay the prosecution costs. Unless he was legally aided, he will have paid the costs of his own defence, but the court has a discretion to order the prosecution to reimburse him. If the offence of which the defendant was acquitted is indictable, the court may, alternatively, order the costs of an acquitted defendant to be paid from central Government funds. The manner in which the courts exercise the latter discretion is governed by a practice direction made by the Lord Chief Justice in 1973, the general effect of which is that the discretion should be exercised in favour of the defendant unless he has brought suspicion on himself and misled the prosecution into thinking that the case against him is stronger than it really is, or there is ample evidence to support a verdict of guilty but the defendant is entitled to an acquittal on account of some procedural irregularity. We have no present proposals for legislation on this matter.
§ Mr. Leeasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many criminal trials held during the 12 months ending in the acquittal of the accused all, or part, of costs were ordered to be paid to such accused persons; in how many cases no orders were made in respect of such costs; and in how many cases such persons were ordered to pay part of the 120W costs of the trial, notwithstanding the fact of acquittal.
§ Dr. Summerskill:The information requested is not available.