§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursTo ask the Attorney-General what was the cost to the public purse of the conduct and arrangement of proceedings in the case of Councillor Frank MacGrath of Preston. [66332]
The Attorney-General[holding answer 20 January 1999]: Councillor Frank MacGrath was the subject of three separate sets of criminal proceedings which arose out of an investigation by the Lancashire Constabulary known as Operation Angel involving allegations of fraud and corruption. Expenditure identified by the CPS as attributable to this series of cases comprises Counsel's fees £250,134 and payments in relation to witness expenses of £2,496. However, the complexity and inter-relationship of these cases make it impossible to attribute specific expenditure to Councillor MacGrath. The CPS staff working on the case did so as part of their ordinary department duties and their salary and associated cost cannot be separately apportioned.
I understand from the Lord Chancellor's Department that information about the passage of the case through the magistrates court is held only in manual records and therefore is not readily available. It could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
I am further informed by the Lord Chancellor's Department that, according to information readily available, Frank MacGrath was granted legal aid in the Crown Court and the total amount paid to defence lawyers was £120,936.46. In addition, there were payments amounting to £47,153.88 from Central funds. Just over 71 hours were spent in Crown Court hearings and this cost an estimated £21,200.