Contributions
1,222 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDPublic Office (Accountability) Bill (Second sitting)Q When we met them, the leadership of the organisation considered that they would be personally criminally liable for any failure to operate the duty of candour. Do you think that…27 Nov 2025HANSARDPublic Office (Accountability) Bill (Second sitting)Q As MI5 will not be here to give evidence, it is important to articulate the points they made to us for you to hear. Their account was that there is a difference between one part…27 Nov 2025HANSARDPublic Office (Accountability) Bill (First sitting)Q Hello; I am the shadow Justice Minister. Professor Lewis, are there any significant differences, or even minor differences, between the work that the Law Commission did and its…27 Nov 2025HANSARDPublic Office (Accountability) Bill (First sitting)Q It is obviously difficult to talk about hypotheticals, but I think it is potentially helpful, because we are talking about legal terms that not even members of the Committee…27 Nov 2025HANSARDPublic Office (Accountability) Bill (First sitting)Q I ask the same question, but on reasonable excuse versus public interest. Professor Lewis: That is less clear. The one thing I could say quite confidently is that there is a…27 Nov 2025HANSARDPublic Office (Accountability) Bill (First sitting)Q Mr Guest, can you see any prosecutorial disadvantages to the new offences compared with the existing law? Tom Guest: No. In general, we were supportive of this project from the…27 Nov 2025HANSARDPublic Office (Accountability) Bill (First sitting)Q The common law offence is unlimited in its penalties, essentially. Do you, as prosecutors, sometimes advocate for sentences above what will be the statutory limit to the…27 Nov 2025HANSARDPublic Office (Accountability) Bill (First sitting)Q But are you aware of examples that have gone above those limits? Tom Guest: I am not aware of them. There is always a question of overlap. If you have another offence, such as…27 Nov 2025HANSARDPublic Office (Accountability) Bill (First sitting)Q I will pick up on the earlier questions on contractors and subcontractors. If I put in everybody’s mind the Post Office Horizon scandal, where you had contractors and…27 Nov 2025HANSARDPublic Office (Accountability) Bill (First sitting)Q But potentially? Professor Lewis: If someone were in public office, which I think is not necessarily the case based on the clauses before us, it is possible that the seriously…27 Nov 2025HANSARDPublic Office (Accountability) Bill (First sitting)Q I am Kieran, the shadow Justice Minister. I want to give my sincere condolences to all of you and all of the families for what you have been through. I want to commend your…27 Nov 2025HANSARDPublic Office (Accountability) Bill (First sitting)Q Part of the Bill is about creating parity of esteem in legal advice and support, and one of the biggest reasons for that is that it costs money. Have any of you experienced…27 Nov 2025HANSARDPublic Office (Accountability) Bill (Second sitting)Q 42 I am the shadow Minister. Thank you for coming along to assist us with our proceedings. I have a question for you, Deborah, on the work of INQUEST. Will you illustrate the…27 Nov 2025HANSARDPublic Office (Accountability) Bill (Second sitting)Q You mentioned what the coroner might choose to ask or not ask. What is your experience of the variability in the way in which coroners approach these issues? Deborah Coles:…27 Nov 2025HANSARDPublic Office (Accountability) Bill (Second sitting)Q Professor Waters, first I want to acknowledge the circumstances that bring you here today, which is not something that any of us would want to experience. Condolences on your…27 Nov 2025HANSARDPublic Office (Accountability) Bill (Second sitting)Thank you.27 Nov 2025HANSARDPublic Office (Accountability) Bill (Second sitting)Q In your experience of organisations that have delivered what you might call a duty of candour without this legal sanction, either successfully or unsuccessfully, what are the…27 Nov 2025HANSARDPublic Office (Accountability) Bill (Second sitting)Q I am the shadow Minister. Some members of the Committee had the opportunity to meet deputy heads of the security services last week. One thing they talked about was that…27 Nov 2025HANSARDPublic Office (Accountability) Bill (Second sitting)I am the shadow Justice Minister. To start with, may I just check how you would like to be addressed? Judge Durran: “Judge”—is that easiest?27 Nov 2025HANSARDPublic Office (Accountability) Bill (Second sitting)Thank you, Judge. Judge Durran: It is either that or “Chief”, and I think perhaps “Judge” sounds more formal.27 Nov 2025