§ Mr. WinnickTo ask the Attorney-General if he will state the total amount (i) in legal costs and (ii) otherwise spent out of public funds on proceedings involving the book "Spycatcher" and including the costs awarded against the Government by the European Court of Human Rights.
§ The Attorney-GeneralThe total amount paid out in respect of legal fees to date over five years and in several countries is £506,000. It will not be possible to specify for some time the total cost of the litigation, which will include costs of £200,000 awarded against the Government by the European Court of Human Rights this week.