Topical question asked in the House of Commons, by Jim Cunningham (Labour). It was answered on Tuesday, 9 February 2010 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Topical Questions

Question: May I ask my right hon. Friend whether an update of measures on witness protection-more importantly, witness protection in the courts-is under way?

Answer: We have made huge improvements on witness protection in recent years. The Crown Prosecution Service, the police and the courts now have witness protection measures in place, and some £22 million a year is spent by the police. We changed the law in 2008 to provide for a statutory scheme of witness protection, and that has been further extended by measures in the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 regarding victims of serious gang and knife crime, which will shortly come into force.

Secondary information