HL Deb 20 April 2000 vol 612 cc122-3WA
Lord Windlesham

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What action has been taken to implement Recommendations 222 and 223 of the Royal Commission on Criminal Justice (Cm. 2263, 1993). [HL1629]

Lord Bach

In its Final Response in 1996 to the Report of the Royal Commission, the previous government said that these recommendations "remain under consideration, although the Government is concerned that they would depart fundamentally from the principle that a jury should as far as possible be chosen at random from a cross-section of the population as a whole". In the light of the noble Lord's interest, we have looked at this issue again and have decided that the Government will give active consideration to these recommendations. A further statement will be made in due course.