§ 30. Mr. Hilary BennTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the case of Mr. Anthony Gerald Dickinson and his application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission. [147119]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeThe Criminal Cases Review Commission is operationally independent of the Home Office, and I am unable to intervene in its determination of individual cases or to comment on their merits. I understand that the commission considered an application from Mr. Dickinson, but concluded in March 1998 that the case did not meet the criteria laid down in the Criminal Appeal Act 1995 for the commission to make a reference to the Court of Appeal. His legal representatives made a further application on Mr. Dickinson's behalf in May 2000, and I am confident that the commission will consider these representations carefully and impartially.