§ Lord Wigoderasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many cases prosecuted by the Director of Public Prosecutions in the last three calendar years were cases in which he might have asked the Attorney-General to authorise a jury check under the terms of the latter's Guidelines dated 31st July, 1980, in how many such cases was an application made and in how many was it granted?
The Lord ChancellorIt is not possible to give entirely accurate figures as the Director of Public Prosecutions does not keep a separate record of cases in which an application for a jury check might have been made under the terms of the Attorney's Guidelines. Those which are available are given in the table below. These figures are for offences under Sections 1 and 2 of the Official Secrets Act 1911 and offences involving national security under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1976 and Sections 2 and 3 of the Explosive Substances Act 1883. Where offences were charged under more than one of these Acts the case has been counted once only. Figures are not available for terrorist murders or attempted murders allegedly committed otherwise than by the use of explosive substances, for the unlawful possession of explosives (Section 4) or for offences under the Firearms Act. It is believed that there cannot be more than one or two cases involving such offences in which applications could have been made but which are not incorporated in the table. All cases in which applications have been made have been included.
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Year Type of Offence 1978 1979 1980 Totals Applications Possible Made Granted Possible Made Granted Possible Made Granted Possible Made Granted 1. National Security … 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 2. Terrorist … … 4 0 0 2 0 0 4 1 1 10 1 1 Totals … … … 5 1 1 2 0 0 4 1 1 11 2 2 House adjourned at a quarter past eight o'clock.