§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the forthcoming report of the Police Complaints Authority on their investigation into the circumstances surrounding the shooting of Diarmuid O'Neill. [24092]
§ Mr. MichaelNo. The courts have ruled that investigating officers' reports, which are submitted to the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) and the appropriate disciplinary authority, are covered as a class by public interest immunity. The completed report will be sent to the Coroner for the purposes of the inquest and to the Crown Prosecution Service to consider whether there are grounds for criminal proceedings against any person. The PCA will also consider the report to decide whether any disciplinary action should be taken.
We have made it clear that we wish to increase public confidence in the complaints system by introducing more openness, and we are examining how this might best be done in the light of the recently published report by the Home Affairs Select Committee on police complaints and discipline.