§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Solicitor-General what information is held by his Department concerning private prosecutions concerning the deaths of William Beausire in Chile in 1975 and Father Michael Woodward. [143408]
The Solicitor-GeneralThe information held in the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers consists of various representations by solicitors seeking the consent of the Law Officers to the prosecution of Senator Augusto Pinochet for the offences contrary to section 134 Criminal Justice Act 1988 and the Criminal Law Act 1977 in relation to William Beausire. In the time available it has not been possible to trace any information relating to a private prosecution relating to the death of Father Thomas Woodward. For the reasons I gave in my statement to the House on 2 March 2000, refusal of consent to various prosecutions of Senator Augusto Pinochet were on the grounds of evidential insufficiency and that the relevant provisions are not retrospective.