§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the forensic experts who supplied evidence to the Home Office Retirement board which considered the case of Dr. Clift, indicating which were supportive and which critical of his overall professional integrity and which were independent of the Home Office.
§ Mr. BrittanEvidence was supplied Dr. A. S. Curry, Professor S. S. Kind, Mr. N. B. Prance, Miss M. Pereira and Dr. B. Rees, who were at that time members of the Home Office forensic science service, and by Dr. B. B. Beeson, Dr. J. G. Renstead, Mr. L. Cann, Dr. J. A. G. Clarke, Dr. G. Garrett, Dr. D. Patterson, Dr. C. St. Hill, Mr. A. Thompson, Dr. L. Wise, Dr. R.C. Woodcock, and Mr. H. J. Yallop, who were not. The proceedings of a departmental retirement board are held in private and it 261W would not be appropriate to publish or indicate the nature of material prepared for the proceedings relating to an individual member of staff.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library the original report prepared by Dr. Clift about forensic aspects of the alleged murder of Helen Wills by John Preece.
§ Mr. BrittanI am placing in the Library a copy of the text of a report by Dr. Clift dated 8 February 1973, which I assume to be the report to which the right hon. Member is referring.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) prior to his suspension, if Dr. Clift was given any informal warnings, formal warnings, adverse reports, or chances to improve any alleged deficiences in his performance;
(2) if he will outline the procedure that is followed before an employee of his Department of the grade of Dr. Clift can be compulsorily retired; and whether it was followed in the case of Dr. Clift.
§ Mr. BrittanThe general principles governing the procedures for the compulsory retirement of non-industrial civil servants are set out in paragraphs 10510–10609 of the "Civil Service Pay and Conditions of Service Code", a copy of which is available in the Library of the House. These envisage that, where an officer's performance deteriorates, there will be a series of reports, informal and formal warnings, and opportunities to improve performance. These procedures could not be followed in Dr. Clift's case because once it became clear that his work did not reach an acceptable standard of professional competence, he could not be allowed to continue as an expert witness. The Civil Service Appeal Board considered the procedures which had been followed in Dr. Clift's case and decided that he had not been unfairly dismissed.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the reports and documents asked for by Dr. Clift and his solicitor which his Department refused to make available, indicating in each case why the request was refused.
§ Mr. BrittanIt is not possible to provide a complete list of the documents which were not made available to Dr. Clift and his solicitors as the requests were, in some cases, made in general terms. It would appear, however, that the principal documents which my Department declined to make available were the complete report of the police investigation into Dr. Clift's work; the statements by Home Office staff in the trial of Messrs. Morgan, Brown and Cowley; and the annual staff reports on Dr. Clift for the period 1972 to 1974. These were refused because they were not relevant to the issues which were being considered by the departmental retirement board. My Department did, however, make available all documents and records which related to the issues the board considered, including relevant extracts of the report of the police investigation, and the annual staff reports on Dr. Clift for the period 1975 to 1977.
§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many annual reports were made about Dr. Clift during his years as a Home Office forensic pathologist; in which years his work was criticised; and if he was informed of the criticism.
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§ Mr. BrittanTwenty-three staff reports were made on Dr. Clift — normally at annual intervals — during his service with the Home Office. These reports were confidential, and it is not the practice to publish details of them.