§ Mr. MillerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what ESDA evidence has been adduced in(a) the case of Paul Malone and (b) the case of the Birmingham Six.
§ Mr. JackA report on ESDA tests on certain documents was submitted to my right hon. and learned Friend by Mr. Malone's solicitor in support of representations about the safety of his conviction. I understand that further ESDA tests have been carried out at the request of the chief constable of Cheshire. The results of both sets of tests are currently being considered by officers of the Metropolitan police who are reinvestigating the case.
A description of the evidence of ESDA tests adduced in the final appeal of the Birmingham Six is to be found on pages 42–52 of the judgment of the Court of Appeal on 27 March 1991—R v. McIlkenny and others—a copy of which is in the Library.
§ Mr. MillerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many anomalies have been identified by ESDA evidence affecting the case of Paul Malone.
§ Mr. JackI understand that the results of ESDA tests on certain documents relating to Mr. Malone's conviction are among matters being examined by officers of the Metropolitan police as part of their further inquiries into this case. The significance of these results cannot properly be assessed until the investigation as a whole has been completed. When I have received the investigating officers' report on the case, I will, of course, give it full and careful attention.