§ Mr. DismoreTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his Department's policy when(a) conducting legal proceedings and (b)seeking legal advice as to the circumstances in which queen's Counsel should be instructed; and for each of the last three years (i) on how many occasions his Department instructed Queen's Counsel and (ii) what was the total cost of instructing Queen's Counsel. [81761]
§ Mr. Doug HendersonMy Department uses counsel to conduct legal proceedings or to provide legal advice as recommended by the Department's various solicitors or the Department's Legal Adviser. Junior counsel from the Attorney-General's panel or Queen's Counsel are instructed according to the degree of experience and expertise required in each case.
The number of occasions on which Queen's Counsel have been instructed in the last three years, and the cost of doing so, could be provided only at disproportionate cost.