§ Ms. PrimaroloTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how much public expenditure was incurred in the abandoned litigation against the pharmaceutical company Roche; and if he will conduct an inquiry into the reason for this nugatory expenditure.
66W
Mr. John M. TaylorNo part of the litigation which is being funded by the Legal Aid Board against the pharmaceutical company, Roche, has yet been abandoned. In the light of the statutory criteria under the Legal Aid Act 1988, some of the legally aided claimants have been sent letters informing them that their legal aid certificates may be discharged and inviting them to show cause why they should not be. There is a right of appeal against discharge. The generic expenditure on all the benzodiazepine drugs in the litigation amounts to approximatley £3 million, though further, as yet unquantified, costs have also been incurred. In view of the numbers of individual cases involved, these costs may be considerable.