§ Ms BlearsTo ask the Solicitor-General if he will take steps to ensure that the Crown Prosecution Service provides full disclosure of all the information and evidence concerning the death of Malcolm Reddican to Mr. Reddican's family. [157964]
§ The Solicitor-GeneralDisclosure of the evidence and all documentation in relation to the case has been requested by, and on behalf of, Mr. Reddican's family. The Crown Prosecution Service has always indicated a willingness to meet with the family and their legal representatives to discuss the case.
However, leading counsel for the Crown was asked to consider the question of disclosure, in particular the Human Rights implications of disclosing all the case papers. He advised that, while the family are entitled to a full debriefing and to reassurance that the murder of Malcolm Reddican was fully investigated and properly prosecuted, the rights of others must nevertheless be balanced against the rights of the family.
Indeed national policy of the Crown Prosecution Service is generally to withhold details of decisions in individual cases, since not to do so would breach confidentiality and might adversely affect the interests and reputations of the parties involved—witnesses, the victim and the suspect. To discuss publicly a decision not to prosecute could amount to a trial of a suspect without the safeguards which criminal proceedings are designed to provide.