§ Sir Ivan LawrenceTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what conclusions he has reached of his examination of the criminal law on anonymity in sexual offence cases; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. HowardI have given careful consideration to this matter in the light of considerable public concern that was apparent towards the end of last year. I am satisfied, however, that the present law, which affords anonymity for complainants in sexual offence cases but offers no special protection for defendants, strikes a proper balance between the principle of open justice on the one hand and the need to ensure that victims of sexual offences are encouraged to come forward on the other. I therefore have no plans to alter the law in this area.
I believe that victims must continue to benefit from the current level of protection. Even with anonymity, criminal trial is a particularly harrowing process for the victim of a sexual offence and I believe that any diminution in the protection currently available, or doubts about the certainty of the protection, would be likely to increase the number of sexual offences that go unreported and unpunished. The law already allows for the prosecution of complainants whose accusations amount to perjury or an attempt to pervert the course of justice, and in those circumstances the rules relating to anonymity no longer apply.
So far as defendants in sexual offences cases are concerned, I am not persuaded that they should be treated differently from those charged with other serious crimes, who may also fear a loss of reputation. In a system of open justice some discomfort for defendants who are subsequently acquitted is inevitable. But openness is essential to the maintenance of public confidence in the criminal justice system and ensures that information that might encourage further witnesses to come forward is publicly available. I do not consider that there is a special case for infringing that principle in relation to defendants in sexual offences cases, as a matter either of general application or of judicial discretion in the individual case.