§ The Government welcome Mr. Justice Butterfield's conclusion that significant progress has already been made by HMCE in dealing with the issues underlying the failure of the LCB cases, and the unequivocal finding that there is no evidence in the LCB cases of improper enticement or encouragement to commit crimes or of entrapment.
§
Most importantly, the Government welcome Mr. Justice Butterfield's conclusion that
HMCE should now put the events of the London City Bond cases behind them and move forward, but not in a spirit of complacency",
and the recommendations he makes on how this process, already substantially underway, can be reinforced.
§
Mr. Justice Butterfield makes a number of important recommendations that encourage HMCE and the CEPO to continue the programme of reform underway in the department. These recommendations relate to:
HMCE's role as an independent investigating force—the Government accept Mr. Justice Butterfield's finding that, under the current arrangements, HMCE should continue in its present role;
the handling of human intelligence sources—the Government accept these recommendations, and HMCE will promptly implement the new guidelines and procedures which are outlined in the Report;
training for investigators—the Government accept these recommendations, and HMCE will incorporate them into an improved training programme for specialist investigators;
external scrutiny of investigations work—the Government accept the principle of external scrutiny of HMCE investigations work, and HMCE has been asked to undertake a study to identify how additional external scrutiny can best be introduced; and
HMCE's regional structure, and in particular expertise in Scottish law—the Government agree with the analysis in the Review, and has asked HMCE to ensure that proper and informed legal advice is available to Scottish investigators and intelligence officers.
In addition, the Review recognises that CEPO has been revitalised since the Gower/Hammond Review and welcomes the changes that have taken place, in particular the increased independence that followed the transfer of accountability for HMCE's prosecution
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function to the Attorney General in April 2002. However, Mr. Justice Butterfield draws a number of conclusions, which include recommendations:
that, in order to make its independence from HMCE even more transparent, CEPO should become an entirely separate prosecuting authority accountable to the Attorney General;
that there should be an increase in the number of Investigation Legal Advisers employed within Customs, who play no part in the prosecution process but are available to provide advice to investigators; and
that a more systematic dialogue between HMCE and other Government Departments responsible for related practical and policy issues would be desirable.
§ The Government strongly agree that the ability of prosecutors to exercise their decision making and other prosecution functions independently should be ensured.
§ The Government will be considering the full practical implications of these recommendations, and in particular how the independence of the prosecutors in CEPO can best be strengthened further. The Government will provide a detailed response to all these recommendations in the autumn.